Adam's Story
by HeathenVampires
Summary: AU Adam!Vlad. Adam Giles is 13 years old, happy in his life with his mum and sister and stepfather. When tragedy forces their family to Stokely, Adam has no idea how much his life has yet to change. Rated T for dark stuff/swearing/mentions of sex. I repeat, this story gets darker along the way!
1. Where It Started

**Don't own the characters, though this is going to be thin on the canon ground in many places.**

 **Someone pointed out to me that I have a few Adam!Vlad one shots and stories now, but almost solely focused on my Vlad/Ingrid ship love. This is designed to be something more. It's likely to end up as an Adam!Vlad/Ingrid story eventually, but not immediately and probably not for a while - this starts before Ingrid and the Count move to Stokely so they won't even be in it for a while.**

 **For quick reference - Adam Giles (Vlad if he hadn't been adopted by the Count at birth) was according to Young Dracula Wikia conceived September of 1995, so I'm guessing his date of birth to be June 1996 (though I believe it's April in the show).**

 **Guessing at Georgina Giles (George) being around four to five years his junior, for the purpose of my story she was born August 2000 and is four years Adam's junior.**

 **Michael Giles is my made up character as there is no information on George's dad other than that he's dead.**

 **And now I've bored you all so much you won't make it to the story, on we go!**

-ASYD-

Adam's Diary 23rd May 2009

People tell me I can't possibly remember it, I was only a baby. But I do. In my dreams I hear it, my mum crying and begging. Begging for me.

 ** _"I can't do it mum, he's my son. I've loved him since I first knew I was pregnant, and I can't give him up!"_**

The first time I asked my mum if I'd been adopted, I was only 5 and she'd cried and told me to go to my room. I wouldn't have asked again. The next day she sat me down and explained. I _had_ almost been adopted, she was only 18 when she got pregnant with me, young and single and scared. I told her about the dream I kept having, and she looked at me in surprise when I repeated back the exact words she'd said when I was only a month old. I was a sickly child, pale and skinny with a barely-there pulse and struggling to breathe. I wasn't premature, I spent the full nine months incubating in there but apparently I was a runty baby regardless (according to my gran). They weren't sure I'd make it, telling my mum to prepare for the worst.

Somehow I made it through, my health improving by the day and by a month old, I was old enough to be released home. That was when my grandmother had said it was time I was put up for adoption. My mother was only 18 when she got pregnant, 19 when I came whimpering into this too-bright world and struggled for life. My mum had fought for me, and won. My gran has always made it clear she thought I should have been given up regardless, and we don't see much of mums parents at all now. They came when my sister was born, though of course she was more acceptable - her father was in the picture.

Michael Giles was a wonderful man who never failed to treat me like I was his own son, though my mum had been honest with me and said he wasn't my biological father. My little sister Georgina, or George for short, adored her father and all four of us spent many happy weekends down at the beach, going horseback riding, sailing, rock climbing and building tree houses in our back garden. My mum is mad about art, and recycling. She could make art out of what other people called a pile of rubbish. One summer, we even spent a month in South America. This led to George deciding she wanted to grow up to be an archeologist - at only six years old! No matter how much time we spent in the sun, I never quite managed to tan and George would tease me mercilessly about needing high factor sun cream so my ghostly skin wouldn't fry.

We used to live near to Whitby (I was conceived at Whitby Goth Festival, according to an awkward and strained conversation with my still-fuming grandmother), but now we're packing up home and moving to a little place called Stokely in Wales. Mum can't bring herself to stay here, not in the house Michael died in. Three men had broken into our house and Michael, the man who raised me as his own son, he locked me and George and mum in their room and told us to call the police while he went to try and stop them. There were screams and shouts and breaking glass. I had to hold George back from charging out there with him, and mum was crying into the phone and begging the police to hurry.

There was a bang, then more shouts, and then silence broken only by the cries and whimpers of my mother and sister. I felt cold, numb but I had to keep watch over them. I didn't let them out of the room, not until the police knocked on our locked door. They didn't have to tell us what had happened, the solemn looks on their faces telling the story already. Michael was dead. He died protecting all of us, but the ghosts haunted the house. So I cleaned up the blood, fighting tears and nausea but not wishing such a thing on my mother. We packed up our lives, and mum sold the house. Saying goodbye to our childhood memories, I picked up George and she clung tightly to me. Carrying my nine-year-old sister out to the moving van, I strapped her small and fragile body into her seat. I was thirteen years old now, and I had to square up and be 'the man of the house'. Climbing out of the van, I helped mum up into the drivers seat, checked the removal men had gotten everything and cast one last look at the home I'd watched my baby sister grow up in. Swallowing back tears around a lump in my throat, I climbed up into the van.

 _I'm Adam Giles, and this is how life goes on._

-ASYD-

 **Horribly cliche ending, I know!**

 **Also, the rest of the story won't be first person from here on (I HATE writing in first person), this is just a diary entry to summarise the beginning of the story.**


	2. Life Starts Over

**Anything you recognise from Young Dracula isn't mine.**

 **I'm struggling with writers block over my crossover stuff and my other active YD fic, but this one is all over my head so I guess I'm putting out more!**

 **As I said, will not be in first person like the diary entry of Chapter 1.**

-ASYD-

Scrubbing a hand through his floppy dark hair, Adam looked out at the passing scenery. George was clinging to his hand, emotional and sad about them leaving their life behind and the loss of her father. It was understandable, he'd only died two months ago. It felt like hours, not weeks since then. Everything had passed in a haze of grief and responsibility, Adam having to go and empty out the last treehouse they'd built and take it apart for the house sale. The tears hadn't stopped falling as he dismantled the wood and nails, ignoring the way sharp splinters cut at his hands and letting the pain anchor him to life as the remnants of their families mark on the place was removed. Helping George pack up her room, promising to help decorate her new room however she liked. Propping up his mum when she broke down crying again, getting George ready for school when their mother was too upset to drive them. It was lucky their schools had been so understanding, his grades suffering as he forced each day out of himself.

The funeral had been the hardest day, holding George to his side while his mother wept into his shoulder. Tears had rolled down his own pale face, the weight of adulthood starting to press in when they lowered the coffin into the ground. Endless people had paid tributes and remembrance, offering condolences and the old lady next door had kept turning up with tea and cake. He was going to miss her, Mrs Jones who had used to tell him stories when he was a boy, laughing when his scruffy hair had peeked over the garden fence. She'd even knitted George baby things for years, saying it was nice to be busy when she had no children of her own. She'd also been invaluable as a confidant to his mum, understanding the loss of a husband to tragedy herself. Clenching his fist until there was crescent-moon indents in his palm, Adam mastered the emotions. He could break down privately later, now he needed to be tough and help start putting their lives back together.

They pulled up outside a row of terraced houses, still only about to clock into the afternoon after their early start. Lifting George from the cabin, helping his mum down and greeting the team of men who'd came to help them move the boxes into the new house. They'd barely even unlocked the truck before one of the neighbours was poking her head out of the door, bright smiles and waves and talking a mile a minute. "I'm Elizabeth Branagh, you must be the new neighbours!" Adam shook the womans hand politely, eyeing up the family behind her. Two older boys, a younger girl around George's age, and a man in overalls Adam presumed to be Mr Branagh. Looking up at the house, he could see a boy almost as pale as himself watching out of the window. Offering a short wave to the dark haired boy, Adam nudged his mum to agree to the womans offer of coffee. "Go on mum, me and the big guys there will get the boxes in. You could do with a friend." His mum looked hesitant, but the neighbour was truly persistent and eventually she relented, handing him the new house keys and taking George along with her.

An hour later and multiple choice swear words exchanged with the burly moving men later, the truck was empty and Adam realised he needed to go relieve his mum of the keys so the men could take it away. Knocking quietly on the door, the dark haired boy he'd seen earlier. "Hi, I'm Adam and my mum's in here somewhere?" "Robin, Robin Branagh." The teens shook hands quickly, and Robin led him through to the kitchen. Adam already liked this family a little, he hadn't seen his mum smile like that since Michael had died. "Mum, the moving guys need the keys. All the boxes are in." His mum scrambled in her bag, tossing him the keys and promising to be along in a few minutes. "Oh nonsense, stay for lunch! I doubt you'll find anything in time and teenage boys need their food!" Mrs Branagh was a force to be reckoned with, and five minutes later Adam had made sure their new house was locked, handed off the truck keys and found himself dragged out into the Branaghs garden to be plied with lemonade and cheese sandwiches.

"Do let us know if you need help re-decorating, my boys would be happy to help!" The older boys, who Adam had gathered were non-identical twins Ian and Paul (though he wasn't sure who was who just yet) nodded dutifully, and Adam could already picture them in overalls with paint everywhere. Mr Branagh, who insisted on being called Graham, had overalls tied around his waist over a bright orange polo shirt and his wife said he was a plumber. Robin by contrast was clad in head to toe black and sitting almost silently next to Adam. The youngest child, Chloe, was just as quiet as George but they seemed to be conversing amicably enough about whatever nine year olds talked about. Sipping quietly at his lemonade, Adam didn't really need to add much to the conversation as Mrs Branagh filled any and every silence. It was another hour before they esc... left, claiming they needed to start unpacking before it got dark. "Shout if you need help!" His mum nodded and thanked them for lunch, and the Giles left for their actual home next door.

The main priorities were beds, and Adam was grateful Michael had taught him DIY from a young age as he puzzled over instructions and bolts and bits of frame. The main furniture in the living room was already put up, so Adam set George up with hot chocolate and a movie while he and his mum sorted out critical things like sleep and food and bathroom necessities. The place didn't feel especially 'homely' yet, but a few hours work and it at last started to look like it was inhabited. They ordered pizza for dinner, his mums way of thanking Adam for being so good and helpful today - pizza was his favourite. George had started flagging from the early start by 8pm, so Adam tossed her in the bath and put her to bed while his mum made a list of what they'd have to go out shopping for tomorrow. Finally collapsing into bed after seeing his mum go herself, Adam felt thoroughly shattered by the day and barely managed to clamber into pyjamas before falling asleep. It felt alien, his room bare of posters and mementos at the moment but he was almost asleep before his head hit his pillow.

Mrs Branagh had been knocking on their door at 9:30am, no doubt just back from dropping her children off at school and holding out a tray of tea and toast. Adam was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes when he brushed his teeth and pulled on clothes, dragging a still pyjama-clad George down for their impromptu breakfast delivery. The mothers had chatted over coffee and Mrs Branagh was a fountain of local knowledge, practically drawing a map with her words when his mum asked about places like supermarkets and DIY stores. Mrs Branagh even offered to take George, but his sister was dying to choose colours for her new bedroom and rushed off quickly to get dressed in case she was left behind. They managed to see off the unbelievably chatty woman and set off to stock their kitchen essentials before they finally pulled up at the rather ridiculously huge hardware store for a town this small. Adam picked basic black and blue for his room while George picked out something she said looked like sand, and stencils of what he thought were hieroglyphics. They picked up neutral colours for the other rooms, and George demanded they get rugs so she didn't have to wear socks on the tiled floors in winter. Chuckling at the spark of his sisters cheek returning, Adam helped her pick out some she liked. George even tried to convince Adam he'd look 'smashing' in bright pink overalls, to which Adam pointed out the various shades of green he knew she hated. Their mum chuckled at their antics, and Adam let the first spark of hope that things would be alright fill him up.

They'd barely gotten back through the front door before being besieged by Mrs Branagh again (Adam wondered what she'd done with her time before they moved in) carrying fruit cake and yet more tea. Somewhere there was a serious shortage of the miracle brew. Adam wasn't a huge fan of cake, but politely ate a piece before tidying up the groceries and acquiring George to help dust sheet their bedrooms so they could be painted. His adorable sister grew more animated when handed a paintbrush, and their mum looked surprised to find them not only getting along, but laughing and making progress. George's room was the priority, as she'd need the most help to feel settled in their new home. Adam slept on the sofa that night while George took his bed, then he was up at 6am to surprise George by finishing off her walls with the hieroglyphics. "I've left you one wall to do yourself munchkin, but I thought I'd give you a head start." George was thrilled, making him an utterly terrible cup of tea, but it was the thought that counted as he snuck it down the sink when she darted off to finish her room. His mum had given him a tight hug for being so good through everything, not complaining as loudly as she normally would at his "dark room" colours.

A few pieces of furniture and a poster of Indiana Jones later, George's room was all done and it was plain to see how happy she was now her room was her own again. While his room was drying they painted his mums room, and he gave up his bed again in favour of his mum clearly needing her rest. By the fourth day after their move, the bedrooms were all sorted and the Branagh twins had been sent over in overalls and told to be "as helpful as possible". Adam put them to painting the bathroom, their frankly enormous height an advantage while George 'helped' him paint the living room. As the last of the door frames were glossed and their mum warned them for the thousandth time to be careful as gloss paint never came out, Adam couldn't believe the difference they'd made in a week. The house felt more like a home already, and it was clear whether they wanted it or not, the Branagh family were fully intent on being "helpful and supportive" in their time of need. Or at least, that's what he suspected when Mrs Branagh fed them at least once a day and spent the rest of the time peering over the fence to "see if they needed anything". Falling into bed all over again, Adam sighed as the last week caught up with him. Next week they'd be getting registered at Stokely Grammar, the local school that catered for 4-18 year olds. His mum had been in and explained the whole situation, so the school would know they were adjusting to a complete overhaul of their lives. George wouldn't be alone, being put in the same year as little Chloe Branagh and that was Adam's main worry. Previously George had never struggled to make friends, but she was still coming back out of her shell as they pieced their lives together again and he'd been concerned she'd become a loner just like him.

Adam didn't mind being a bit of a loner, he had his family and that was what mattered to him. Though he'd be in class with Robin Branagh, so he supposed at least he'd know somebody. Adam wasn't entirely sure if the boy liked him or not yet, he was quiet and spent alot of time in his room but he was never outright rude to Adam, so he supposed he'd work it out as he went along. Looking over at the school uniform already hung over the door of his wardrobe in preparation, Adam rolled over and forced himself to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be spent working on the garden, though there was no tree for them to put a treehouse in anymore, so it would more be somewhere his mum could work on her art without making a mess and somewhere to enjoy when the weather was good. Looking up at his black ceiling, currently covered in a mix of glow in the dark stars and bats (a gift from Mrs Branagh as Robin had run out of room for them), Adam smiled to himself. There would be a normal life again here eventually, he was sure of it.

-ASYD-

 **This just kept going and going, and I'm 99% sure it's so long its boring but it's gotten the whole beginning stuff out of the way. And of course they had to live next to the Branaghs, I could hardly put them in the castle!**

 **Suppose I should start working on something other than this... damn writers block!**


	3. First Day

**Still don't own anything recognisable.**

 **I'm ridiculously ill a day before christmas, so naturally I am spending it writing fanfiction?**

-ASYD-

A couple of days intense work later, their garden looked more like a garden and Adam was happy to spend the day watching movies with George while their mum had a go at making something out in the garden. Adam wasn't entirely sure what it was meant to be, so he went back to watching whatever movie George picked and keeping them both supplied with a lot of hot chocolate. Mrs Branagh popped her head over the fence to invite them over for lunch, and his mum sent Adam and George over but said she was busy. George perked up at being able to see Chloe again, the two constantly mumbling in hushed tones about who knows what. The twins were tossing a rugby ball around the garden, and invited Adam to join in. Their looks of surprise when he tackled them and brought them down were brilliant, and Adam supposed he had to come clean about having been on his school rugby team before. "We run the football team, you should try out for both! Though our games kit is going to make you look even paler, how come you look like Robin when your mam and sister look like they just fell off a sunbed?" Shrugging, Adam looked at his moonlit pallor.

"I've always been pale, we went to South America for a month three years ago and I came back the same colour as I went! My mum always tells me girls go for the pale and interesting look, though I think she's just trying to make me feel better." "Yeah, it hasn't worked for Robin yet!" Adam thought that comment should bother him, but then he had far more important things to worry about than girls. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen George laugh so hard, the twins picking up both of the young girls and swinging them in the air. "Look Giles, we have your sister! Come get her!" They knew Adam wouldn't actually tackle them while they held George, but his sister looked gleefully happy as Adam chased the twin carrying her around the garden. When they finally stopped to try and draw breath between childish laughter, Adam saw his mum looking over the fence with some of that constant tension finally leaving her face. "I don't think you've ever had so much colour in your cheeks ghost boy!" Grabbing George, Adam tickled her ribs until she squealed. "I was trying to save you munchkin, this is the thanks I get?" Tossing George over his shoulder, they thanked the Branaghs and headed home.

His mum was waiting when they came back through the door, and Adam sent George off to get cleaned up as she'd got covered in mud rolling around the garden. Sitting down in the kitchen (his mum would kill him if he sat on the sofa covered in mud) he waited for her to talk. "Thank you for today Adam, I can't remember the last time George laughed like that." "It's going to take time mum, but we're all going to be ok. Lucky we have such... friendly neighbours!" That won him a bright smile from his mum, and Adam left her to sort out the damp mess of George's curly hair while he went to shower himself. His hair betrayed a slight tendency to curl if he didn't dry it thoroughly, but it had nothing on George's wild mane. Their mum had straight hair, though Michael had had curly hair himself, so Adam wondered where the little wave his hair could get came from. "As far I remember through the haze of hangovers and woodsmoke, your father had straight hair too. I think you must have got it from granny Adam." was his mums answer when Adam had asked, and he left it at that. Knowing wouldn't actually change the way his hair turned into a birds nest.

Tomorrow would be their first day at school, Mrs Branagh already saying she'd be ready to walk them down to Stokely Grammar in the morning. They spent the rest of the afternoon curled up on the sofa together in pyjamas watching their favourite movies. His mum had an interview at the local Community Centre tomorrow, they were looking for someone to teach art classes and Sally Giles was a fantastic artist. The classes already ran, but apparently the previous teacher had had one too many run ins with a local 'nutter' and decided to retire or get sectioned, he wasn't sure. Adam was completely confident she'd land the job, and it would certainly do his mum good to have some sort of regular socialisation and a sense of purpose outside of him and George. Putting George to bed, Adam sat next to his little sister and tried to soothe her anxieties. "I'll be in the same school, and Chloe will be in your class. You have nothing to worry about munchkin!" George smiled and gave him a sleepy hug, then told him to stop haunting her room like a ghost and go to bed himself. Checking George had packed her bag, her uniform was hung up ready and then the same for his own things, Adam went to help his mum sort out their lunches for the next day. Making George's favourite peanut butter and nutella sandwiches so she'd have something to cheer her up mid day, Adam fell about laughing when his mum somehow got peanut butter in her hair. "I understand when it's pottery and clay and paint, but now you can't make a sandwich without wearing it?" That earned him a swipe of jam down his face, which he cleaned off before it could get sticky and declared a truce. "Go on son, off to bed with you now!" Giving his mum a quick hug goodnight (never too old for mum hugs!) Adam set off for his own bed.

Smacking his mobile phone to stop beeping his alarm at 7:30am, Adam crawled out of bed. Brushing his teeth and scrubbing his tired face clean, putting on the crisp new uniform and trying to remember how to do up a tie (his old school uniform was a clip on tie) and still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Adam went to rouse George. George would sleep through an earthquake if she had the chance. She stumbled into the kitchen ten minutes later, dressed and clutching her backpack and sleepily thanking Adam when he pushed cereal in front of her. Their mum appeared then, dressed in her 'smart suit' and looking nervous. "Mum, relax! You're a fantastic artist, they'd be mad not to love you instantly." Handing his mum her usual morning coffee, Adam poked George before she fell asleep in her cornflakes and checked his watch. "Mrs Branagh will be here any minute now, have you both got everything?" "Yes mum, I checked both our bags last night, our lunches are packed and George is somewhere around conscious. Everything is good to go! Apart from how little this uniform suits me that is." His mum pressed a kiss to his pale cheek, smiling fondly at him. The door knocked then, Adam dashing to answer it while their mum smoothed down George's hair and nudged her towards the door. "Morning Adam, don't you look smart!" Smiling politely, Adam grabbed hold of George. "Thank you for walking them Elizabeth, I can't be late for my interview." "Oh no problem Sally! You look lovely, and I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. Come on kids, let's get going."

Adam let George grasp his hand as they walked down the roads to school, quashing his own nerves in favour of supporting his clearly nervous little sister. Robin walked quietly next to them, a heavy black trench coat over his school uniform. The building came into view quickly and Adam gave George a tight hug, letting Chloe lead her over to the lower part of the school and following the Branagh boys to the headmistresses office. "Ah, you must be Adam Giles? It's lovely to meet you, welcome to Stokely Grammar." The headmistress was a late middle-aged woman, tightly curled grey hair and a cycle helmet on her desk. He was handed a time table, a planner style folder and told to stay with Robin to learn the layout of the school, then assigned a locker and handed a key. "You're lucky, your locker is right next to Robin here. There was an... incident with his last locker neighbour, which won't be repeated again will it young mister Branagh?" Robin shook his head, the twins chuckling until a glare from the headmistress sent them away. As soon as they were clear of the office Adam was asking "what did you do?". Robin looked hesitant to answer, but a smile broke over his face as he answered. "I only 'accidentally' put some toy bats in their locker, it's not my fault they thought they were real!" "Toy bats?" Robin nodded eagerly. "I love anything to do with vampires!" That explained the left over glowing bats Mrs Branagh had given him for his ceiling then. And Robin's black bedroom covered in drawings of night creatures. The first class was woodwork, and Adam spent almost the entire lesson looking at various tools in confusion under the watchful gaze of the elderly man running the class. He was due to retire at the end of the year according to a whisper from Robin, so Adam hoped the replacement teacher would be more likely to actually help him understand how to work wood. Otherwise he was going to end up failing the class, he could put up a cabinet in no time but these fiddly little carving tools looked a little dangerous for someone who didn't know what they were doing.

The planner type thing he'd been given soon turned up it's use, scribbling down homework from almost every class but each teacher pulled him aside to say it was understandable if he took a little time to catch up, and given his home circumstances they would look the other way if his homework wasn't top rate to begin with. Adam's previous good grades were a blessing and a curse, the teachers were aware of their recent move and family trauma but they'd expect high performance when he got into the swing of things. Mrs Branagh turned up again to collect them to walk home, and Adam and George were met with their mum beaming happily when they got in. "I got the job!" There were cheers and hugs and Adam assuring his mum he knew she would. "It's a mix of day and evening classes, but Elizabeth has offered to look in on you when I'm teaching after school and you're trustworthy enough to have a key yourself now Adam." They celebrated with a bowl of ice cream after dinner, then settled around the table with mugs of tea (and hot chocolate for George) and chatted about their day at school. Adam made sure to knuckle down and get through his homework, helping George through hers in between equations and questions on English texts. Everything was falling into place a little bit at a time, and Adam went to bed that night exhausted but happy as their lives started rebuilding around them.

-ASYD-

 **Right, I'm actually going to go work on Chosen Two now, promise!**


	4. Full Of Surprises

**Anything recognisable isn't mine, the rest is probably what I made up.**

 **Not really much to be put in authors notes really, this story doesn't need much in the way of warnings yet, though there may be darker themes later but they will be warned of.**

 **Other than that, on we go!**

-ASYD-

The first week of school passed with little incidence and Adam realised his fourteenth birthday was only a few days away. In the midst of everything going on, he hadn't even thought about it. His mum had asked what he wanted to do, and Adam had replied with a simple desire for cake and pizza. His teachers had already remarked that they were impressed by his work, and there was only a month left until the summer holidays. Normally Adam expected his mum wouldn't have bothered enrolling them until the next school year, but the school had agreed that he and George needed some kind of structure and normality to keep their lives going. Naturally, Mrs Branagh had been thrilled when she found out there was an upcoming birthday and insisted they'd have a little party. There was little point arguing with her once she had an idea in her head, so Adam politely agreed to save himself the headache of the woman nattering on.

Shrugging on his uniform and making sure George was ready for school, Adam let his mum kiss him goodbye as she headed off to work, and the Branagh family were at the door like clockwork to walk with them. From the front of his house, Adam could see the topmost of an old castle tower, which Robin frequently remarked he was dying to explore. The dark and strange boy had started to come out of his shell when he realised Adam wasn't going to reject him over his vampire obsession (and it really was an obsession, he kept drawing Adam with fangs and saying they'd suit him), frequently inviting Adam up to his room to play video games and swearing at the twins when they made crude remarks about two teenage boys locked up in a bedroom all the time. Today was when the twins informed him he was trying out for the rugby team, and Adam was quite excited. He wouldn't be on the team til the next school year, when a couple of players had left but the bulky twins had insisted that the sports coach try him out regardless. Rugby was something he knew he was good at, his considerably shorter and leaner frame often had the much bigger players underestimating him until he knocked them clean over. George often remarked that Adam's mystery father must have been a body builder or something, given that Adam was 'freakishly strong'.

The usual monday classes passed normally, Adam had even started to work out how his tools worked and successfully made a miniature table (which George liberated him of almost as soon as she saw it). Robin looked at him like he was mad when he headed off to change for rugby, but he and both their sisters took places in the stands regardless. "Right lads, this is Adam Giles, he's trying out now so we know if he'll be any good come September. He comes highly recommended, apparently he floored one of the Branagh twins!" Adam could hear the mocking tone in the coach's voice, and some of the other boys were casting less than encouraging looks over his pale skin and skinny arms as he changed into the Stokely kit. They'd soon see. The boys clacked their way out, the studs of their trainers rattling over the tiled floor of the changing room. It was clear the team practiced well, the boys took positions naturally as Adam was tossed into the line up. "Come on then Giles, you should know how this works!" The whistle blew and Adam was tossed the ball almost immediately, taking off at a run and laughing to himself as the 'opponents' tried to knock him down. He might be smaller than them, but he was also a hell of a lot faster than they expected him to be. Not one of them had managed to take him down as he touched the ball down at the end of the field, pushing his sweaty fringe off his face and smiling to himself. A couple of the boys were now shooting him surprised looks, and Adam reveled in the fact he could show them up just a little.

Now it was 'their' teams turn to chase the others, and he could see the way they planned for one of the more brutish sized boys to carry the ball. Waiting until the ball had been tossed back and forth a couple of times, Adam launched himself and took the gargantuan boy down easily. Grabbing the ball and tossing it to a nearby team mate quickly, Adam jogged up with them until his row of players scored again. The coach called them back after ten minutes, and Adam was privately thrilled as multiple players apologised for not expecting much. "Not bad Giles, I look forward to seeing you at try outs in September!" They practiced for another hour, and Adam was muddy and bruised but felt proud of himself for holding his own as he went to scrub his skin clean and head out to meet his 'fan club'. "You're mad Adam, that guy was three times the size of you!" Grinning at Robin, Adam nodded. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall mate!" The twins appeared to congratulate him, making him promise to try out for football in September too if he was that fast. They'd clearly been tasked with walking them home, clapping him on his bruised back as he went to turn into his own house. His mum fretted over his bruised cheek, but Adam was still grinning as he told her it was rugby and they'd all been predictably surprised by his performance. "You boys and your silly sports!" "Right, because George rock climbing at nine years old is soooo much safer?" His mum ruffled his still damp hair and told him to go do his homework safely, bringing him a cup of tea and a sandwich as he studied his algebra.

Wednesday was his actual birthday, but Adam knew they were officially celebrating on Saturday so he didn't expect much fanfare. George, for once awake before him, leapt on his bed and told him it was time to get up for school before handing him a poorly wrapped present. How the girl managed to fail to wrap a rectangular box, Adam would never guess. He smiled when he pulled out the new shoes, wishing he could wear them to school but knowing better. Putting them to one side to dress for school, Adam headed downstairs. Pancakes - the Giles family birthday breakfast - awaited him there and Adam smiled at the way his mum arranged the chocolate chips in a smiley face pattern every year. "You get your other gifts on Saturday, Elizabeth insisted but you have to have something to open on the day!" Chuckling as he sipped his tea, Adam nodded. He could imagine that argument easily. His mum had got him a new jacket, and Adam immediately shrugged it on and declared it his new favourite. "Come on ghost boy, just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you can be late for school!" George was tugging at his hand and waving at the clock anxiously. "Just because your birthday is in the summer holidays munchkin, you rarely surface before noon!" "Don't forget I have a class tonight, Elizabeth will check in on you and dinner is ready in the fridge." Adam nodded, he knew his mum hated working on his birthday but they'd be celebrating properly at the weekend anyway. "Yep, bye mum!"

They were out of the door before the Branaghs, Adam receiving a chorus of "Happy Birthdays" when they appeared. Thanking each person individually, Adam shied away from the attention and headed along to school. Thankfully, it was still too early for him to really know anyone else properly and so he avoided the majority of awkwardness he always floundered with when he was the center of attention. Mrs Branagh walked them and her brood home again like almost every other day, and Adam was thankful to escape to the quieter sanctuary of his own house with George in tow. "So ghost features, what shall we do to celebrate you floating into existence?" Adam turned to tickle George, poking under her ribs until she squealed and buckled to the floor. "Doctor Who, then dinner munchkin?" Smiling as she always did at his nickname for her, George nodded and they both changed out of their uniforms to curl up with one of their multiple Doctor Who DVDs. Adam found one of his mothers many "made in advance, just reheat" meals, her latest fad now she was working some evenings. They were half way through eating when there was a knock at the door, Adam barely managing to swallow his food and greet Mrs Branagh. "I know we're having a little party Saturday, but a birthday boy needs a birthday cake!" Sure enough, the woman was clutching a small chocolate cake in a box. "There will be a proper one Saturday, and your mum has already told me you like pizza so don't worry!" Unsure what to say to the overbearing and slightly mad woman, Adam let her in to see George was in fact still alive in his care. He blushed brightly as Mrs Branagh commandeered George to sing Happy Birthday at him, painfully aware this would likely be repeated at his 'party'. Blowing out the solitary candle, Adam sighed in relief when his neighbour left before splitting the cake into three pieces. "Mum will be disappointed if we don't save her some, you know how she likes her chocolate." George nodded, barely stopping for breath as she wolfed down her portion of gooey cake. Putting his mums piece away in the fridge, Adam sent George for her bath before bed against her protests.

"Go on munchkin, then I'll help you fix your hair and if you're really good, I'll tell you that story again?" George was suddenly more eager, rushing off for her bath and reappearing in her pyramid printed pyjamas and clutching the hairbrush that detangled her wild hair. Her friends had always been surprised at how close they were as siblings, but Adam knew he had almost lost the chance to know his family because of how he was conceived and he never took that for granted. Carefully combing out the thick curls, Adam started telling the story that was guaranteed to make her sleepy. He didn't know how he knew it, it was just something that came to him in his dreams.

"There was once a man named Count Dracula, and he was a vampire. Count Dracula had two vampire children, one girl and one boy. The boy was called Vladimir, and Vladimir wasn't like other vampires. He wanted to be human, and he spent many years trying to find a way not to become a vampire."

Sure enough, by the time he was half way through the story and finished with George's hair, her eyelids were starting to droop and he put his little sister to bed, tucking her in and telling her not to have bad dreams about vampires again or mum would kill him. She chuckled sleepily, promising not to get him in trouble and managing to mumble "Happy Birthday" again before she fell asleep. Adam returned to clean up their dinner and cake mess, loading the dishwasher as he was frequently told off for not doing, putting together their lunches so his mum wouldn't have to do it when she got home and then taking himself off to bed. He laid his new jacket carefully over the back of his desk chair, which was more frequently used as a place for his folded school uniform to rest between the times he used it. Brushing the remnants of chocolate cake from his mouth, Adam threw on his pyjamas and sat to wait for his mum to return home. "Adam Giles, what are you doing up at this hour?" Adam had been lost in thought, not realising it was now almost 11pm. "I didn't realise the time mum, I'm sorry. How was work?" "Very good, the people who come are all lovely and it's always a joy to enjoy your job. Now off to bed, you're fourteen not forty and you need your sleep." Clutching his mum in a tight hug, Adam nodded and took himself off to bed, calling back to say there was cake in the fridge for her.

The story haunted his dreams again, and Adam couldn't quite shake it when he awoke the next morning. It was strange for him to have such a constant recurring dream, he knew. The 'vampires' were always faceless, nameless but for Count Dracula and his son Vlad, and they spoke such strange words to him sometimes that Adam would wake in the night, feeling like his heart would pound out of his chest. It hadn't been an especially bad night though, so Adam pressed on with his day as the weekend party approached. By Friday evening, his mum had laid out his "best jeans" (by which she meant they had no holes in from him playing out in the garden with George) and a new t-shirt he suspected was another birthday present. The party was a good excuse to wear his new shoes, so Adam supposed he couldn't complain too much about cake and pizza and presents.

-ASYD-

 **I'm not too sure how happy I am with this chapter, but then I'm actually rarely happy with my writing and constantly want to re-write it.**


	5. Birthday Boy

**Anything recognisable isn't mine.**

 **So, people actually seem to be reading this? Well, my view count keeps going up so I assume so!**

 **This was meant to be a proper story with regular but more spaced out updates, but I am terrible at that so have another chapter!**

-ASYD-

Adam got his valued lie-in Saturday morning, but his day still began with George bouncing on the end of his bed and telling him it was his birthday party today. "Breakfast is in half an hour, mum said you'd need time to shower with that mop on your head!" Adam grumbled and kicked his sister out of his room, hunting out clean underwear and dragging himself to brush his teeth and climb into the shower. He did feel considerably more alert when he got out ten minutes later, though his hair was an utter mess and would likely eat up the remaining time before breakfast. Wriggling into his jeans and lacing up his new shoes with a smile, Adam set about taming the shock of hair. His hair had always been the same light brown since he was about 5, but as he looked at it now he wondered if it were a trick of the light or if his hair were starting to darken again slightly. Shrugging and pulling on the new t-shirt (he would bet George had chosen it as it said "Keep Calm I'm The Doctor") Adam headed down to breakfast. His mum knew there would likely be an obscene amount of food if Mrs Branagh's usual cooking habits were anything to go by, but she still thought he needed a proper breakfast and plated up eggs and toast just the way he liked them.

Taking in the faint dark circles under his eyes, his mum patted him on the shoulder when he was done eating. "Are you still having those dreams Adam?" Never wanting to hide things from his family, Adam nodded. "They aren't as bad as they used to be, but they still wake me up sometimes." The usual "this is how I show I love you" mug of tea was placed in front of him, and Adam soaked up the warming comfort of the drink as George hadn't made it. George appeared for her own pile of eggs soon after, wearing a dress Adam knew his mum hated as it wasn't especially 'girly' but George had begged for. She never strictly pushed the gender stereotypes on her children, constantly encouraging George with "girls can do anything boys can" and letting her indulge in sports and other things that were a little more than 'tomboyish', but that didn't stop her cooing over Adam in a shirt and tie or George in a pretty dress. "Does it matter mum? George and Chloe are going to spend most of their time talking about Latin" it transpired quickly that the youngest Branagh was literally a child prodigy "and then George is going to tease me repeatedly when I blush during the Happy Birthday song."

George nodded around a mouthful of eggs, downing her glass of milk and darting off to wash her hands and face again (the girl was incapable of eating without making a mess). His mum checked her watch and said they'd better head round when George returned, or at this rate their front door would have indentations in the shape of Mrs Branagh's knuckles from all the times the woman rapped on their door. Adam chuckled at the image, not bothering with a jacket in the warm afternoon air when they were only next door. If there was a torrential downpour in June, they'd still only have to run about fifteen steps to get home safe. George reappeared, bestowing a tight squeeze on her brother before bouncing over to the front door. "Come on!" Sighing internally at having to be the center of attention again, Adam followed his overexcited sister around the garden paths to the Branagh house.

There was indeed a copious amount of pizza and cake, though as Adam had seen how much the Branagh twins could eat, he wasn't surprised. "The Doctor? Doctor Who?" Robin quizzed, and Adam wasn't sure if he was making the age old joke or if the boy was too busy obsessing over vampires to know the show. The grin when he started to answer told him it was indeed a joke, and Adam smiled in return when the usually dark boy laughed. George and Chloe were already sequestered with plates of party food, talking animatedly about things that could make even Adam's head spin. The two young girls were fiercely intelligent, and it was mildly frightening to behold but Adam loved that his sister had made such a firm friend. The Branagh twins dragged him into a conversation about the various merits of pizza toppings, in between inhaling an alarming amount of food and constantly saying they needed their energy. His mum was sat discussing who knows what with Mr and Mrs Branagh, which left Adam trying to balance his time between the twins and Robin, who hung back from the others conversations unless Adam sought him out. Begging off yet another discussion of rugby, Adam went over to Robin with an offering of cola and pizza. "Hey Robin, don't look so glum! It's not you who has to have everyone shouting Happy Birthday at you later." Robin was almost as un-enamoured with the idea, smiling and teasing Adam thoroughly about how he just 'loved' being the center of attention.

There were presents to be opened, Robin had gotten him a huge set of plastic fangs, the Branaghs had gotten him new rugby trainers (probably at the request of the twins), there was a new watch from Chloe and George (the parents obviously collaborating for the young children) and his mum had gotten him a new phone. He didn't especially need one, his old one was fine but George happily pointed out now she could take his old phone to play all the games on it. Promising to hand it over when he'd had time to transfer his information over, Adam stood to face the dreaded birthday cake. The cake itself looked excellent, but Adam ducked his head and his pale cheeks burned red as they all sang to him. Blowing out the candles as quick as possible, he was much happier when everyone was occupied with eating cake until they felt sick, and not embarrassing him further. Darkness had begun to fall in the late summer evening before they left, and Adam felt so full of food he declared he was never eating again as they got into their home. "You say that now, come tomorrow you'll be ravenous for Sunday lunch!" Adam smiled, it was true. They were having it earlier than the usual mid-afternoon dinner, as his mum had a class the next night.

George was barely even awake as Adam dropped her on her bed, and he was prepared to bet she wouldn't even change into her pyjamas before she fell asleep. Changing out of his clothes and plugging the new phone in for it's customary "first charge", Adam exchanged good nights with his mum and dropped onto his bed, falling asleep almost instantly. In spite of the ridiculous amount of food, when Adam woke to smell the cooking dinner his stomach rumbled happily at the thought. Looking over on his desk to his new gifts, Adam plotted slightly. After brushing his teeth, he put in one of the more disgusting looking set of fake fangs before he headed down to his mum and sister. "Mum, Adam's turned into a vampire in his sleep!" Adam grinned around the thick plastic, ducking when his mum aimed a wooden spoon at him for looking so ridiculous. Spitting them into his hand as he couldn't talk around them, Adam grinned at his mother cheekily. "It would be rude not to use my birthday presents mum!" "Yes, well. No blood of the innocent at my dinner table thank you!" Settling in for their usual pyjama day (which George had only put on after she got up this morning) on the sofa, Adam smiled as George shoved a pillow in his lap and lay her head there.

"Munchkin, one day you'll be too old to use me as an extra pillow. And then where will you be?" His mum predictably pulled out the camera, memorialising the "cute" scene of them watching movies together. "Well one day, you'll become so pale you'll literally disappear. And then nobody will know where you are!" George giggled from his lap, squealing when he tickled under her chin and almost rolling clean off the sofa. "Calm down you two lunatics, I swear my children were replaced at birth sometimes." They both grinned cheekily up at their mother before dutifully washing their hands and sitting at the table. George predictably seperated out her vegetables into coloured piles - she'd eat them all, but she liked the way it looked. Adam had to carefully eat his steak (he didn't like chicken like they did) so as not to put George off, she was too young to understand rare cooked meat. There wasn't much meat he did like, but Adam had early on discovered a love for an almost blue rare steak, though his mum refused to cook it that way and rare was the best he got. George would have her steak cooked so thoroughly it was almost burned, and his mum liked hers just the cooked side of done. As his mum had said "Family don't have to like all the same things, just don't be getting me in trouble for poisoning you with your still mooing hunk of cow!" Smiling at the memory of the first time he'd tried the steak before it was fully cooked, his mum had actually picked it up with her fork and made mooing noises at him with it. Then told him off for not waiting until it was done, then looked surprised when he said he preferred it still pink. He'd only been about eight at the time, and Michael had grinned at Adam sharing his taste for red meat, which had been the clincher in his mum giving in.

"If you get hungry later then there's extra sandwich things in the fridge, are you ok to sort out your lunches for tomorrow Adam?" Nodding as his mum got ready for work, Adam looked over to see George asleep still clutching her bowl of now-melted after dinner ice cream. "It's only an hour until she goes to bed, just make sure she brushes her teeth and don't let that ice cream get on the sofa." She kissed him on the cheek before heading out to the car, and Adam listened out for her pulling away before locking up behind her. Carefully dislodging the bowl from his sisters surprisingly tight clutches, Adam set about sorting out school lunches and making sure George had her uniform and backpack ready. Poking his slumbering sister awake, he sent her to go clean up and get to bed. She tried to protest she wasn't tired, even though she was rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Sure you aren't munchkin, humour me. If you're still awake in half an hour, come get me and I'll give you a bedtime story." Naturally, she was out like a light when he peered in ten minutes later and he smiled fondly at her.

Aside from the embarrassing song, yesterday hadn't been too bad he thought. Settling down in his bed to start switching his phones over, Adam said fond goodbyes to his old game data. If he transferred that, George would have to start over again on some of them and she'd be crushed. The girl was far too attached to her pixellated lizards on 'Dragons World', and they had frequent, almost-vicious tournaments to beat each others scores on Bejewelled and Super Collapse. Setting the background of his phone to a picture of he, George and their mum, Adam smiled at the bright and happy photo they'd taken last week - the first day they'd spent entirely in the garden after it was cleared and everyone was starting to feel better again. They all still felt the loss of Michael, he knew that, but life here was turning out better than he'd expected by far. Even if the neighbours were far too friendly. Checking his uniform and bag was ready himself, Adam dropped back into bed and fell asleep in preparation for the upcoming school week.

-ASYD-

 **Something very strange about writing a summer chapter on Christmas Day... mind you it's so damn warm in the UK for December it's probably not that out of place!**


	6. Please Adam?

**Anything recognisable isn't mine!**

 **I'm still finding this one the easiest to update, so I'll start here! NSBN? and Chosen Two will be updated too, promise!**

 **This fic is not going to end as an Adam/Robin fic, but there may be elements of it scattered through (I really struggle to write friendships, is it obvious?).**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

A week after his birthday party, Adam wasn't entirely sure this was one of Robin's more excellent ideas, the two teen boys had spent half the day playing video games and Robin had suddenly leapt up, declaring today was the day he needed to re-dye his hair and that Adam should try it too. Adam only agreed because it looked like his hair was getting darker anyway, so he reluctantly allowed Robin to smear cold stuff over his hair and subsequently spent half an hour scrubbing dye off his face, ears and neck before washing off the dye. He couldn't deny the darkened hair set off his pale skin even better, and after making sounds of surprise when Adam returned home that evening, even his mum was saying it looked good. "Robin convinced me, I think he's trying to slowly turn me into either him, or a vampire." "Well, I don't think hair dye can make you one of the undead son, but it does suit you." Smiling and hugging his mum, Adam laughed when she said he smelled like chemicals. "Actually, I just remembered I have something for you son." Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Adam waited.

"I'm not going to pretend this is 100% a perfect likeness, but it's the best my memory has been of that... weekend." Taking the folded paper from his mum, Adam opened it to find a sketch. A very detailed sketch of a man with long dark hair, brooding eyes and high cheekbones. "I always wondered where they came from. Was he as much of a ghost as George calls me?" There was no other reason for his mum to hand him this, if it wasn't a picture she'd drawn of his father. "It was Whitby Goth Festival, everyone there was fairly pale faced. Though I'm almost certain the rest of him was quite pale too..." "Mum! Stop right there!" His mum was grinning, clearly trying to wind him up a little. "You asked Adam dear, now don't forget to put a towel over your pillow case tonight so it isn't ruined, now off to bed, it's getting late." Giving his mum another hug goodnight, Adam headed up to bed, exchanging texts with Robin about the game he'd just beaten him at, Adam thought it might be something to do with Star Wars but he wasn't sure. "Yes Robin, you can teach me chess tomorrow."

Finally falling asleep, Adam woke up to Robin texting him again. Which was surprising, as Robin slept even more than George. "Just woke up, come round in an hour with the board." Crawling into the shower, Adam was surprised when the water ran dark before remembering Robin had dyed his hair yesterday. Hoping the dark smudge would wash out of the towel, Adam attempted to reign in his wild hair and shrugged into clothes, promising George they'd still do pyjamas and movies that evening. George agreed happily, saying she was off to see Chloe and they were going to practice Latin again. Shaking his head and ruffling George's hair fondly after breakfast, Robin appeared at their door followed by his mum bearing fruit cake and tea as George was getting ready to head next door. "Hello George, I just stopped by to give the boys something to snack on while they play chess." Thanking Mrs Branagh, Adam saw his mum off to work and led Robin to the garden with the tray and chess board.

"You lucked out moving in to someone amazing like me Adam, shame about the twins eh?" Grinning around a mouthful of cake, Adam lost spectacularly to Robin five times in a row before admitting defeat. "Fine Robin, you are fantastic at chess, yes!" Robin grinned, and Adam wasn't sure if the warmth in his chest was joy or something more. "It's getting on a bit, I'll head home and send your little sister back before mum appears with more food. I swear she's trying to make me fatten up." Robin stood up, twisting this way and that to check his slim frame hadn't suddenly ballooned out from the cake. "You go, I'll pass you the tray over the fence to save you walking through with it all." Robin nodded, waiting til Adam stood up and giving him a hug. It was the first time they'd actually done it, and Adam didn't miss the mild flush of surprise on Robin's cheeks as the boy all but ran away. Ian came to collect the tray and Paul lifted a squealing George over the fence, and Adam tried to ignore the faint feeling of rejection from Robin as he led George inside, sending her for her bath while he knocked together dinner and prepared hot chocolate. Shrugging quickly into his pyjamas, he helped smooth out the thick hair and sat down to eat with his sister.

This week was another Harry Potter movie, George was mad for them. George's eyes were drooping by the time 'Harry' was defeating a huge snake thing, so he carefully lifted her to bed and returned to tidy up and pack lunches. Their mum returned by the time he was folding uniforms fresh from the dryer, dropping George's off and returning for his. "How was today then son? Did you learn any more chess?" Adam wasn't sure how to answer her, he wasn't entirely sure what had happened. "I don't know, Robin was kind of... strange with me. Maybe I'm imagining it, I've got to get to bed mum." As soon as he started talking about it, he discovered he didn't want to and hurried away quickly. There was little doubt his mum would bring it up again, probably with Mrs Branagh and then there would be knowing looks and sly comments and whatever else mums did to embarrass teenage sons. He had to talk to Robin, though it was a conversation he really would rather not have.

Sighing as he lay across his bed, Adam tried to work out what he'd say to his friend. He had no interest in a relationship, still struggling most nights with bad dreams and dark feelings as the Giles' reconstructed their lives. But Robin was his friend, and he had no desire to hurt his feelings. Checking his phone, he found multiple requests from George on their shared apps. "Go to bed munchkin!" "Yes sir mister ghost boy." Smiling fondly at his sisters message, Adam realised he could text Robin. Except he still didn't know what to say. He felt stupid typing out the "thanks for trying to teach me chess today" and sending it, but anxiety was zipping under his skin and Adam felt like he had to do something. "Sorry I kind of weirded out, won't happen again." Adam didn't like the dismissive tone, and decided he may as well give Robin a chance to explain himself. "Why did you act up? I wasn't offended by you hugging me, George is like an octopus when she hugs me."

Robin took about ten minutes to answer, and Adam was expecting an essay. "If I have to tell you, there's no point." Deciding this needed dealing with now, Adam wriggled into jeans and a jumper. "Climb out your window, meet me outside." Lacing up his shoes, Adam could hear faint sounds next door and figured Robin was doing the same. Having already worked out he could reach the drainpipe and shimmy down, Adam carefully headed out onto the road, gesturing at Robin with his head to walk away a little. They headed up towards the castle Robin had been dying to explore, not speaking until they were behind the rusting gates. There was something oddly serene about the air up here, the knowledge there was nobody but two pale teenagers around. "Robin, you're my friend and I care about you." Robin scowled in the moonlight, glaring hotly at Adam. "You brought me all the way up here just to tell me you aren't interested, seriously?" Mastering the impulse to shout back, Adam clenched his fist until his nails sent sparks of pain through his palm. "I felt like I owed you face to face honesty. It's not about whether I'm interested in you or not, it's that I have my mum and George to think about and I'm not sure I'm in the right place for a relationship."

The moonlight made Robin's face softer, especially as some of his anger melted away. "So, you're not here to reject me for being a freak?" Unable to resist, Adam smiled. "I haven't yet have I?" Robin nodded, and even in the silvery light he could see the flush of his cheeks. "So, you're not... you know?" "Gay? Honestly, I've not had the time to stop and think about it. I don't think so, but then that doesn't mean I'm straight either." Robin swallowed heavily and stepped closer to Adam. "I know you said you aren't in the place for a relationship, but how about you find out at least half of yourself?" Wanting to discourage Robin but not hurt him, Adam stood his ground. "I'm not going to use you like that Robin, that's unfair." Undeterred, Robin stepped closer, a little taller than him but they both knew Adam was stronger. "Is it still using me if I want you to? Nothing has to change, nobody has to know. We'll just be best friends... with benefits? Please Adam." Not being entirely sure what he was doing, Adam nodded. The bright innocence shining in Robin's dark, moonlit eyes said the other boy was probably in the same boat entirely. Pushing into Robin's space a little more, Robin's eyes fluttered shut and he could see the pulse twitching at the side of his throat. Having to stretch up a little made Adam feel short, but the heat of Robin's mouth on his was enough to stop him caring.

Robin yielded, letting him lead as Adam brushed their lips together hesitantly before seeking firmer contact, licking at Robin's lip and feeling him clutch at his shoulders. Panting into the darkness as they broke apart, Adam could see the grin on Robin's face, wide and set against burning cheeks. He'd done that, he'd had that effect on Robin. "Robin, are you sure this is what you want? I don't want you getting hurt." Robin nodded eagerly, leaning in almost shyly. "Teenage boys Adam, don't you know it's all about the hormones?" Never having been solely at the mercy of his hormones, Adam shrugged before realising what was digging into his hip. "Oh, those hormones." Casting a quick glance to double check nobody was around, Adam had never been gladder Robin wore a cape all the time as he lay the fabric on the floor, stripping Robin shirtless and laying him on the pile of clothes. It wasn't specifically arousing, but the sense of power he had as Robin arched and whimpered at his touch filled him with heat, the pale skin in the moonlight an appealing contrast as Robin shuddered beneath him.

Robin offered to return the favour as he shakily climbed back into his clothes, but Adam checked his watch and pointed out they had to be up for school in five hours. The boy looked almost saddened, but Adam leaned in to brush their lips together again and felt Robin relax at the contact. "We still have to get home, sneak back in and sleep." Robin nodded and Adam ignored the slightly dejected expression when he shoved his hands in his pockets as Robin reached to hold one. It was too late to back out now, but he'd be damned if he didn't work to keep Robin from getting attached. The tree near Robin's window made it easier for him to get back in, and Adam decided he could probably just let himself in through the front door and hope his mum didn't hear him. He got to bed without any further ado and hurried back into his bedclothes, letting the bed warm his chilled skin and trying to process what had happened tonight. Hoping the dreams didn't affect what little sleep he'd be getting, Adam rolled over and closed his eyes.

-ASYD-

 **This is still 99% likely to be an Adam/Ingrid fic, and 100% not going to end as an Adam/Robin fic, but everything happens for a reason here readers!**

 **Now, off to work on my other fics!**

 **If you celebrate it, Happy New Year!**


	7. Ebb and Flow

**Anything recognisable isn't mine!**

 **Feeling a little writers block, but I have a fresh mug of tea and a desire to work on my stories since I never really sleep.**

 **There's more Adam/Robin in this chapter, but I'm still set on this not ending as one. Teenage boys, can't keep their hands to themselves!**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Robin seemed wary of him the next day at school, acting as normal as he could but constantly glancing at Adam out of the corner of his eye. They walked home together with their siblings, separating at their doors and heading in as normal. George was in and out quickly, changing out of her uniform and dashing round to the Branaghs. "Don't forget to be back before bedtime tonight George!" Adam shouted to the blur of his sister, receiving a "Sure thing ghost boy!" in return as the door closed. Changing himself, Adam sat down at the table with a cup of tea and starting on his homework. He'd been at it all of half an hour when his mum passed by, kissing him goodbye and heading off to work. Robin was at their door as she left, essentially letting himself in as his mum left and appearing in the living room. "Hey Robin, want one?" Adam held up his mug as he headed past the other boy to refill his tea. Robin nodded in answer and took the steaming cup, joining Adam at the table.

"Everything alright? You aren't usually this quiet." Adam didn't look up from his English essay, but it was obviously aimed at the only other person in the house. "Yeah, I just wasn't sure you didn't regret... you know. Last night." Lifting his eyes from his work, Adam tried to aim a friendly smile at the other boy. "Not at all, but like I said it's not a relationship, why would I treat you differently?" Robin nodded, dark eyes boring into Adam over his mug. "I guess, I just wasn't sure." Feeling the twinge of guilt, Adam returned the gaze. "Are you sure you're ok with it Robin? I don't want to hurt you, or use you." Robin replied quickly. "Yeah, of course. Plus I don't think it counts as using me when you wouldn't even let me return the favour." Adam winked at his friend then, letting a small smirk curl at the side of his mouth. "Well we can rectify that once I'm done with this, did you bring your books?" Robin grimaced but nodded, pulling out his work and quietly finishing his own essay - "Harry Vampire and the Goblet of Bats." Maths was easy enough, though slowed slightly as he helped Robin with his equations. Robin was intelligent, but didn't like applying himself to his work. He soon sped up when Adam leaned in and whispered "the sooner you're done, the sooner we can head to my room", feeling the thrill of last night as Robin visibly shuddered and rushed through his work.

It wasn't much longer before Robin was all but running behind Adam to his room, his cape and coat already shed downstairs leaving him in a thin t-shirt and jeans. The teens both kicked off their shoes before Adam lay Robin across his bed, kissing the other boy softly until he whimpered for more, clutching at his shoulders when Adam grazed his teeth over his lower lip and soothed it with his tongue. Robin was already panting when they broke apart, chest heaving as Adam pushed his shirt up, a fumble of limbs as they both moved to lose their shirts. The other boy was so hot, skin burning as their bare chests pressed together. Nuzzling at the other boys neck, Adam nipped at the pale throat carefully, not wanting to leave a mark but relishing the way Robin's nails dug painfully into his back and pressed their hips together. Switching the positions of their bodies, the innocence was back in Robin's eyes as he straddled Adam's lean hips. "Adam, I don't think I'm ready for... that?" Shaking his head, Adam reassured the other boy. "That's not what I'm aiming for. It's easier for you to touch me like this and I want you to... hurt me." Robin looked down at him questioningly, unsure. "I don't want to hurt you." Rolling his hips up, Robin groaned at the contact. "I don't mean beat me up, I mean bite me, scratch me, hold me down. Come on vampire boy, wheres the bloodlust?"

The other boys hands were hesitant as they grazed over Adam's torso, tracing the muscles developing there carefully. "Robin. Please?" This seemed to spur the other boy on, Robin's hands pinning down his shoulders as he leaned down to kiss him again. His body finally responded, meeting the hardness in Robin's jeans as Robin moved to bite at his collarbone, nails trailing gently down his sides until Adam begged for harder pressure. The first scratch of nails was glorious, hot pain flashing through his nerves as Robin bit harder, moving down Adam's chest to bite roughly at a nipple. Feeling the pain build up and blaze through him, Adam fumbled with their zippers, releasing their erections and stroking over them together. Robin's teeth and nails dug harder into him, moving up to hold his body down and kiss him roughly and then down again to raise welts on his skin until Adam spilled, Robin following soon after. The teens lay panting together for a few minutes, Robin managing to slide off him as they righted their jeans. Grimacing at the sticky fluid on his stomach, Adam stumbled to the bathroom to wipe himself clean.

Cataloguing his still bare torso in the mirror, Adam smiled at the faint bruises on his chest, the indentations of teeth around his nipples and the angry red lines striping his skin. Robin peered around the door anxiously a moment later, blushing faintly as he said he needed the bathroom and eyes scanning Adam's marked skin. Adam stepped out for a moment so Robin could 'go' in peace, taking his place a moment later to relieve himself and washing his hands. "What was all that about Adam? You say you don't want me getting hurt, then you go and ask me to do that?" Rubbing over a bruise on his chest and feeling the dull ache as he pressed down, Adam smiled at his friend. "I don't want you getting hurt, but that's what... gets my motor running as it were. It's freeing, anchoring me to one moment so I can lose myself in it all." Robin still looked unsure as he took in the ravaged skin, so Adam kissed him to soothe his anxieties. "Honestly Robin, it's fine. You did exactly what I asked you to do." Shrugging his t-shirt back on to cover the marks, Adam headed back downstairs and flicked on the TV, sipping at a soda and handing Robin a can when the boy reappeared, dressed back in his own top.

He sat down at the opposite end of the sofa and Adam relaxed a little, somewhat worried Robin would try and get close again. They sat in comfortable silence together for a while, watching mindless stuff on the screen until the door knocked. "It's probably my mam checking we haven't starved to death since she last saw us." True to Robin's word, Mrs Branagh was on the doorstep with a bright smile and a polite demand for the teens to come and eat. The Branagh table didn't fit all of them, so Adam, Robin, George and Chloe sat outside, the two girls managing to discuss archeological digs in between mouthfuls of pasta while Robin inhaled his food and Adam ate sedately. As they took the plates back in, the twins turned to Adam to say "Fancy trading Robin for George? She's less weird!" Ruffling his sisters hair affectionately, Adam shook his head. "Sorry boys, this munchkin is mine!" Robin looked a little put-out, brightening up when Adam winked after everyone stopped looking. Sighing internally, Adam thanked Mrs Branagh for the ridiculous amount of apple pie she sent the Giles home with. George was more than happy to shovel it down, smiling when Adam brought her hot chocolate and joined her on the sofa to watch some quiz show or other. Leaving the rest of the pie for his mum when she got in, Adam sent George off to bed and went through the usual routine of putting their lunches together, checking bags and poking his head in to warn George not to spend all night playing games or their mum would put parental controls on the Internet connection again.

Robin seemed to ebb and flow day by day, some days he was perfectly normal and other days he was nervous and wary, usually the days Adam spent time either with George and his mum or out jogging rather than in one of their rooms. Adam managed to pick up a paper round delivering the "Stokely Chronicle" newspaper, digging his bicycle out of the cupboard and spending the weekend fixing it up. It meant he could take the time to go buy a birthday present for his little sister, dragging a protesting Robin around a few shops the day after they finished the school year. The paper round meant getting up at 5:30am, but Adam enjoyed the quiet of the morning before anyone else was awake, the twilight before dawn broke. The only way Robin would agree was if Adam bought him junk food, so they stopped off at a burger place. Adam munched on fries and sipped at his coke quietly while Robin wolfed down a huge burger like he hadn't eaten all day. Settling on a fedora hat to replace the one George had grown out of and a book on runic alphabets (Robin looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn't know George as well as Adam did), the teens headed back home. George was waving from the Branaghs front window, sending Adam a text message to say their mum had gone out with Mrs Branagh to do who knows what, Adam had no idea what mothers did with their spare time.

Stashing his gifts in his wardrobe, Adam turned to find Robin watching him darkly. Lifting his shirt off in preparation, as that gaze usually preceded Robin jumping him, Adam looked down at the array of bruises and scratches on his skin. Robin still looked at him guiltily on occasion, but Adam expected his reactions spoke for themselves. Robin was tugging off his own clothes quickly, scrambling to lie beneath Adam in nothing but boxer shorts. Adam kicked away his own jeans, basking in the burning heat of Robin's body against his own cool temperature, mapping over the spots he knew would make Robin groan beneath him. Still a normal fourteen year old boy, it didn't take long for Robin to spill over Adam's fist, lying panting on the bed as Adam wiped his hand on a dirty t-shirt, tugging his clothes back on so he could safely leave his room without alarming anyone with his bruised skin. Robin reappeared, back in his own clothes as Adam hurried to put the washing on, not wanting his mum to find the stains on his shirt or risk George's clothes getting mixed in with his in that state.

The afternoon was spent topping up the dark dye on both of their heads, Adam having learned early on not to let Robin loose without covering his skin in petroleum jelly to stop the dye staining. He was wearing one of Robin's 'hair dye' t-shirts for it so his own clothes would be safe. Adam was shorter than Robin, but slightly broader and the top rode up when he stood. He caught Robin eyeing the strip of exposed skin frequently, until Adam snapped his fingers in front of the other boy. "Robin, my face is up here!" Robin flushed brightly at the admonishment, grinning cheekily and pretending to ogle Adam further before they took turns rinsing the dye off. Looking at his reflection, Adam wondered if he was due a haircut. His hair was starting to reach past his ears, though it was still shorter than Robin's thick mop and Adam kept his bangs shorter, swept over to one side to keep it out of his eyes. How Robin saw anything, Adam wasn't sure. Wiping at the trails of black water, Adam traded out the load in the washer for a pile of towels before the dye stained, slapping Robin's shoulder in retaliation when the other boy mocked him for owning a hairdryer. "Fine, stay there with wet hair!" Naturally, Robin stole it as soon as Adam's hair was dry again.

Robin left soon after they were done, George and their mum appearing soon after. "How about pizza tonight? Celebrate you guys getting through the last two months and doing so well at school." George agreed, and Adam never turned down pizza so an hour later found them sat together on the sofa, eating pizza out of the box and taking turns stealing each others slices - they never got the same toppings. George was flagging by 8:30pm, so Adam took her to bed while their mum cleaned up, returning to finish his pizza in spite of knowing he'd feel bloated when he eventually retired to bed himself. "I can't believe George is going to be ten in a couple of weeks!" Nodding at his mum around a mouthful of food, Adam swallowed and swigged at his drink. "I can't believe we've been here a little over two months already. Seems longer, but it also feels like no time at all." His mum nodded, flickers of sadness still flashing over her face as she thought of the missing member of their family. His mum wrapped her arms around his shoulders, complaining he smelled like hair dye again. "I've said it before, but I really am so proud of you and George. You've done so well already, and Adam you've been so good through it all, I don't know how I'd have coped without you." Lifting a hand to squeeze at his mums, Adam smiled. "You got me this far, I can carry a bit of weight for you. And it's not like taking care of George is a hardship, my little sister is as wonderful as her mother." His mum chuckled, ruffling his hair and retiring to the TV for the evening. Checking his watch, Adam went to say goodnight to his mum. "I've got my paper round tomorrow, I'm hitting my bed mum, night!" She responded with a smile, and Adam headed off to bed.

The dreams came back, one of his worst nights as the nameless, faceless people swarmed him, whispering of battles and bloodshed and so many things that Adam woke up more than once in the night, panting and sweating. Shaking his head as his alarm beeped to get him up for his rounds, Adam looked over at the sketch on his desk. The one his mum had given him of what she remembered his biological father looked like. Folding it up and shoving it in a drawer, Adam resolved not to have pictures where he could see them, that must have been what caused that face to form in his dreams randomly. Shrugging his thick hoodie on, Adam crept downstairs to drink some fruit juice before heading out into the dark, cool morning. He wanted to go back to bed when he got back, but the dreams had left him too shaky to settle so he resigned himself to watching mind-numbing daytime TV and sighing into a cup of coffee. His mum found him like that, dark circles and three mugs of coffee making Adam look positively ill. "Bad dreams again son?" Adam nodded, leaning into his mums hug before getting up to obtain more caffeine. "I just wish I knew why they kept coming back, I thought dreams were meant to represent life and problems?" His mum gave him a sad smile, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she passed to get ready for work. Feeling the hot liquid burn down his throat, Adam hoped Robin wouldn't mind being called over today, he needed to burn off his anxious energy.

-ASYD-

 **The story will likely start to get a little darker chapter by chapter now, which is why the summary has always said rated for dark themes.**


	8. Deeper into Darkness

**Anything recognisable isn't mine.**

 **Hoping to update this, Chosen Two and NSBN over the weekend, low on inspiration for Chosen One-shots so if you read that, prompt me pretty please?**

 **Warnings include vague mentions of sex between two teen boys and dark mood stuff.**

 **Aside from that, on we go!**

-ASYD-

Robin had answered his text requesting he come over pretty quickly, and George was thrilled to be informed Chloe was waiting for her. Adam promised her they'd do hot chocolate and pyjamas day tomorrow and to go have fun, receiving a hug as George dashed off. He waited all of a minute to drag Robin up to his room, kissing him roughly and stripping away the layers of black clothing quickly to press against the heated skin. "What's brought this on?" Robin managed to pant out when Adam finally gave him time to breathe. "Bad dreams, I need to burn off the anxiety." Adam wasn't in the mood to sugarcoat why he called Robin over, pressing their hips together and tracing tingling touches over Robin's pale body. Robin looked about to protest until Adam thrust against him, his surprised gasp the first in many unintelligible sounds they made as Robin tugged and bit and pulled in the way he knew would make Adam thrum with arousal. It was over quickly, heated breathy pants condensing on Adam's cool skin as Robin shook beneath him. As soon as he felt steady enough to stand he pulled Robin to the bathroom, dragging him under the hot spray of the shower and leaving little time for questions as he knelt down in front of the other boy. Robin's fierce grip in his hair helped anchor him as Adam swallowed him down, rinsing himself off quickly and handing Robin a towel.

The other boy still seemed to be lost for words as they redressed, Adam feeling shaky and tired again as he downed more coffee. He didn't actually like coffee, but tea wouldn't touch the bone deep exhaustion he felt right now. Robin was hesitant, quiet and looking a little shell-shocked as Adam handed him tea and joined him on the sofa. Some documentary about plants played in the background, but Adam was paying more attention to the dull aches and twinges of pain he was left with after the morning spent with Robin. "So, are we going to talk about what's wrong with you or am I just convenient when you feel the need to bruise yourself up?" Fighting the spike of anger, the urge to lash out at Robin, Adam sighed. "I get these dreams, they make me wake up all sick and shaky in the night and last night was bad, I couldn't fall back to sleep after my round and drank too much coffee. I'm still a little wired but I'm totally exhausted. And don't get cute on me, you're the one who pushed for this friends with benefits deal." A flicker of irritation crossed Robin's face, but the other boy hid his face behind his mug and they lapsed back into silence. Turning his eyes to the TV so he wouldn't give in to the urge to scowl at his friend, Adam caught the narrator talking about different plants that could poison a human. Sometimes it was still a tempting thought when his dreams were especially bad, giving up to the darkness and making his sleep permanent.

Shaking the dark thoughts away, Adam knew he couldn't do that to his mum or his sister. Robin finished his drink and sat twitching for a while before pulling on his coat and saying he had other things to do. Adam doubted it highly, but he let Robin kiss him goodbye as the closest to an apology he felt he could offer the other boy. He lay drifting in and out of a daze on the sofa for a while, too wired on caffeine to sleep but too tired to drag himself out for a run to try and clear his mind. Flicking over to the music channels for a different kind of background noise, Adam was more than used to the dulcet tones of drums, guitar and low voices singing from hours spent in Robin's room and let his mind wander a little. Thinking of Robin still made him feel annoyed, he'd given the boy plenty of chances to turn down what Adam felt he could offer him, and Robin had kept pushing and saying it was fine. Thinking of his dreams made him feel dark and sick, so that was out. He was saved the constant whirring train of thought when his mum returned, George bolting through the door with her. "Have you eaten yet Adam?" Realising he hadn't, but not wanting to make his mum worry he'd developed some kind of eating issue, Adam nodded. "I had breakfast late, me and Robin got interested in a documentary and lost track of time." George looked up at him strangely, and Adam wondered just how much of a mood Robin had been in when he went home.

Not feeling especially hungry but knowing going without food all day was a bad idea, Adam pushed his way through dinner with his family, smiling and making sounds of agreement when he could but playing on the fact they could both see he was tired. Giving them both quick hugs, he retired to bed early and lay on his bed. This only made irritation flare again as he could smell Robin's aftershave on his sheets, stripping them off and lying on top of his duvet rather than find clean bedding. Fiddling with his phone and checking on the games he and George played, Adam wasn't sure if he was happy or dejected Robin didn't try to contact him for the rest of the evening. The next day was spent with his mum and George, letting the familiarity of their little ritual of bedclothes and movies soothe his tired mind, even as his dreams continued to haunt him.

It only took two days of the teens ignoring each other for their mums to notice, and Adam was certain Mrs Branagh was quizzing Robin just as his mum was doing now. Pressing against a bruise on his hip where Robin had bitten the prominent bone, Adam let the flare of pain quash the urge to get angry. He felt on edge constantly the last few days, lack of sleep and even his mums sympathetic face making him feel offset from himself. "I don't know, we had a stupid fight and Robin can hold a grudge better than anyone I know. I'm sure we'll be fine, we just need time to cool off." Eventually got his mum off his case about it for a few days, but things came to a head another week later when it was time for George's birthday party. Held at their house now their garden was sorted, it was still obvious Robin had only come so as not to hurt George's feelings, loitering gloomily in the opposite corner of wherever Adam was standing. George was thrilled with her gifts, clambering to hug Adam tightly and he felt lifted, cheered by his sisters bright smile and happy laughter as she and Chloe took turns trying on the hat and chattered avidly over the book of runes. The Branaghs had gotten George new pyjamas and slippers, monster themed (no doubt much to their mums chagrin) and a stack of complicated looking jigsaw puzzles (Adam would bet Chloe chose them).

Their mum had made George an incredibly detailed sculpture of a pyramid, complete with it's own guardian "sphinx" and George was clearly elated as she took it up to her room carefully, no doubt giving it pride of place on her desk. There was food and talking and laughter, but Adam could still see Robin glowering in the corner of his eye for most of the afternoon. Chloe's room was bigger than George's, which is why it was more common for the two to stay at the Branagh's house rather than the Giles'. After several hours of awkward silence surrounding the bubble of happiness, Adam started to get more and more annoyed. His glare left no room for question as he beckoned Robin to follow him into the house, the others no doubt relieved as they took the mounting tension with them. Glad his room faced the front of the house, rather than the back, Adam led them to his bedroom so the others wouldn't see. Shutting his bedroom door behind them, Adam scowled at Robin. "What is your problem? I was completely honest with you about what I could and couldn't offer you past friendship, and you said it was fine. Why are you being all off with me now?" Robin, currently skulking in the darkest corner of Adam's room, glared back. "Because you said you didn't want to use me, but that's exactly what you were doing." Pushing into Robin's space, anger overriding everything else as he stared up at Robin. "You asked me to" he hissed angrily "you practically begged me on that castle driveway. What do you want from me?"

Robin stared at him, expression unreadable in his dark eyes for a moment before he literally leapt at Adam, teeth clacking together as they kissed roughly. Barely having the presence of mind to lock his door, Adam pushed back, tugging at Robin's clothes and feeling warm hands yank his away in return. They fell onto the bed, wrestling for dominance before Adam gave in, pushing lotion at Robin and rolling on his front. "Come on, use me like you mean it." There was none of the usual hesitation from the other boy, pain flaring through him hotly as Robin took out his anger and frustration. The bolts of pain anchored Adam, the dreams and exhaustion falling away for a moment at last. Robin shuddered, heat flooding his body before the other boy rolled off him panting. Tugging his clothes back on, the aching soreness twinged with every movement as Adam looked down at the pale boy on his dark bedspread. "So, we good now?" Robin nodded, and Adam left him there to dress as he walked carefully back to the party, waiting until everyone stopped looking his way to sit down delicately. Robin rejoined them soon after, sitting opposite Adam and striking up small talk. The others were shaking their heads, wondering what had changed but otherwise leaving them alone.

Climbing into the shower as everyone but his mum left, Adam hissed as the water stung his damaged skin. Crawling into his pyjamas, Adam waited until his mum turned to make them both tea to sit down on the sofa, grimacing at the pain but relishing the way the pain held his anxiety at bay. "So, you and Robin sorted out your issues?" Feeling the dull throb inside him, Adam nodded and sipped at his drink. "Yeah, I think he would have held out a bit longer but I didn't want to keep ruining George's special day." His mum reached over and squeezed his shoulder, offering him a smile. "It's good of you to be so mature Adam. I wish you hadn't had to grow up so fast though." Schooling his face into a smile, Adam turned to his mum. "It's not your fault, and you've got George to go through the terrible teenage years!" They shared a laugh, the tension falling from his mums face as they turned back to the TV, some daft girls movie about sparkly vampires filling the screen. "I wonder if Robin thinks vampires sparkle?" Adam chuckled at the thought "Yeah, imagine him covering himself in glitter under all that black to look like them." Parting company with his mum soon after he'd finished his tea, Adam went to try and sleep again, in spite of the dreams becoming an almost nightly occurrence now.

-ASYD-

 **This chapter looks a bit like a poor excuse for hints of smut, but there's valid reasons for most of it, honest.**


	9. New Term

**Anything recognisable isn't mine.**

 **Yep, another chapter. This is my current fic of choice for when I feel more dark and need to get it out, Chosen Two and Not So Bad Now? are somewhat cheerier (mostly).**

 **Anyway, on we go!**

-ASYD-

His back still ached the next morning when Adam sat on his bike, soreness from sitting down while cycling leaving him walking stiffly as he crawled back into bed. As the next few weeks of summer rolled by, Adam took up more exercise, doing push ups and sit ups in his room until his muscles shook, running until his lungs ached and running on less sleep as the dreams got worse. The dark circles on his pale face were starting to look permanent, his usually bright blue eyes a duller, greyer tint. His mum was starting to worry, offering to take him to the doctors for sleeping medication but Adam didn't want to end up trapped in the nightmares. A few days before the new school term begun, Robin had not long left after giving Adam the sore feelings inside he'd begun to rely on to anchor him to reality sometimes, he was crawling into the shower and caught sight of his mums makeup bag on the sink. Rinsing off and dressing quickly, Adam checked George wouldn't be left home alone before heading out to the shops. Their back to school stuff was already sorted, though all of Adam's new muscle growth meant his uniform only just fit him now. The woman at the makeup counter looked at him oddly when Adam asked how to match concealer to his skin tone until he said he was putting together a vampire costume for an early Halloween party. Which meant he learnt how to test matches on the delicate skin inside his wrist for 'coverage' and the back of his hand for colour. He also ended up leaving with an eyeliner that would apparently set off his eyes 'a treat', not that he quite knew what that meant.

Stopping off in the bathroom of a nearby fast food chain, Adam looked to ensure he was alone before covering the dark smudges under his eyes with the makeup. A little rubbing with his fingers later, the circles were barely visible. Rinsing off the surprisingly cold liquid, Adam pocketed the concealer and headed home. He felt a twinge of guilt at deceiving his mum into thinking he was doing better, but Adam didn't want her to be worrying over him. Changing back into Robin's old t-shirt, Adam noticed how the fabric framed his growing muscles as he 'touched up' his dyed hair. His mum had even got him a new backpack, black and emblazoned with little skulls in multiple colours to go with his 'goth phase', which Adam wasn't sure was true but supposed it did fit his current darker disposition. They spent the last day before returning to school together, George in her new monster pyjamas and sipping out of the mug their mum had gotten her - complete with T-rex skeleton as a picture around it - and Adam wearing a long sleeved hoodie to cover the fingertip bruising on his upper arms where Robin had fought to hold him down harder. After three of the Harry Potter movies were marathoned back to back, Adam sent George for her bath while their mum got ready for work. "Yes mum, I won't starve her. Yep, I'll make sure our uniforms are sorted." Receiving his usual kiss and hug goodbye, Adam waved off their mum and sat down to help George sort out her hair.

"Is secondary school scary Adam?" George was nervous about moving up to the upper section of school, her birthday late in the year but early enough to make her the same year group as her peers practically a year older. "Nah, more homework and more subjects, but that'll be no trouble for a couple of geeks like you and Chloe." Adam expected his sister would have retaliated to that comment by smacking his arm if he weren't currently dragging a brush though her thick curls, but she wisely stayed sat where she was. "I already know both you and she got the top marks in your exams, and that was quite the surprise for the teachers since you were only there for two months." "Yeah, I think they underestimated me. I sure showed them!" Finishing up with George so her hair wouldn't suddenly grow three times her size in her sleep, Adam picked her up and stood her on the stool in front of him. "You're brilliant munchkin, Michael would be so proud of you." George had started being able to hear her fathers name without practically tearing up recently, and Adam felt warmed by the blinding smile his sister gave him. "He'd be proud of you too ghost boy, you're an awesome brother. Don't forget, I'd have fallen off that wall without you!" Adam nodded, remembering how George's harness hadn't fastened properly when they last went rock climbing. Habitually climbing near his sister, Adam had forgotten what a stupid idea it was when he jumped out to catch her as it came loose, both of them swinging from his harness twenty feet off the ground. It was the first time Adam remembered his mum looking as pale as he did, watching wide-eyed as George clung to his neck while Adam slowly climbed back down to the ground. The center had apologised profusedly, promising to check every piece of equipment repeatedly and no amount of their mum fretting would have stopped George accepting free trips to the whole place for six months as an apology. His cheeky sister had even managed to convince the sports center to let George bring a friend, though Adam wasn't entirely sure rock climbing or hill training for hikers was actually Chloe's thing. Especially given the younest Branagh's terrified expression the first time George convinced her onto the back of a horse.

"Yeah, well, us Giles' are just that awesome. Now, I presume you want your steak thoroughly cremated?" George nodded, setting the table while Adam grilled her meat til it was nearly black, sticking his tongue out childishly when she made "bleurgh" noises at his rare steak. "Mum usually does it more than that, says it'll make you sick otherwise." Flicking a pea at George's head, Adam grinned. "Yeah, she worries too much. Michael used to have his like this and it never made him sick, maybe it's just a guy thing." Adam thought no such thing, but it was the easiest way to rile his little sister - their mum and Michael had always taught them girls could do anything boys could. "If I tell mum you said that she'll withhold your hair dye for a month, then what will happen to your pasty goth look ghost features?" George was grinning around her steak, so Adam wasn't actually worried she'd tell on him. "Well, then you'll have to feel bad that I leave the house looking terrible. And that's unfair on both of us munchkin." George nodded in agreement, a completely false serious look on her face. "True, I suppose I'll let you off for tonight. On the condition you tell me that story before bed." The puppy dog look she gave him was enough to convince him, even if the very thought of the story his dreams had given him made his skin prickle with anxiety. "Alright, you clean up from dinner and I'll sort out our lunches, then bed time." George leapt up eagerly, clearing the table while Adam made sandwiches, the routine so familiar he could probably do it in his sleep. "Peanut butter and Nutella munchkin, just the way you like it!" That won him another hug, sending her off to brush her teeth while he cleaned up after himself before following her to her room.

 _"Vladimir never found out how not to be a vampire, and when the Slayers attacked his family, Vlad had to choose between his family and the life he loved, the life where he was normal. Naturally, he chose to save his family, and thus he accepted his place as the most important vampire in the world."_

George fell asleep before Adam got any further than Vladimir Dracula and his father having to run from slayers, and her bag and uniform were all sorted, which meant Adam could retire to his room to force more pushups out of his tired body before collapsing on his bed. The concealer was stashed in the inside pocket of his blazer so he wouldn't forget to put it on before anyone saw him, and the relief was visible on his mums face when Adam came downstairs looking 'well rested', the dark circles marring his otherwise pale skin almost gone to her eyes. As though it hadn't been six weeks since they last did this, the Branaghs were at their door like clockwork. Robin looked mildly suspicious as he took in Adam's now flawless face, possibly the only one to see him close enough on a regular basis to notice. Shaking his head subtly, Adam grabbed George's hand, took his goodbye kiss and hug from their mum (ignoring the twins jeers and laughing when Mrs Branagh gave them the same treatment in the street) as they headed down to the school. "We get a new woodwork teacher this year, that batty old guy finally retired! Hope he's better than the last one." "Why do you say he Robin?" Robin stopped to look down at George and Chloe, who had eerily repeated the words together. "I'm sure you two will be great at woodwork, but come on, no woman is going to want to teach a room of 30 kids how to use sharp implements five times a day every day." The girls seemed to accept his reply, George letting go of Adam's hand to walk ahead with Chloe, both chattering excitedly about starting the upper school. Smiling fondly at the two firm friends, Adam looked over at Robin.

The boys dark gaze kept flickering over to him, and Adam was relieved when they made it to the school without anyone noticing Robin's attentions. There was a car Adam didn't recognise in the teachers car park, and a man he didn't recognise climbed out, a boy Adam assumed to be his son climbing out with him. Nudging Robin, Adam gestured over. "Think that's our new teacher?" Adjusting his cape tied around his neck, Robin nodded. "Maybe, there could be more than one new teacher. Man, it must suck to go to a school your dad teaches at. You'd never get away with anything." The new teacher in question was looking strangely and intently at Robin, but then as his friend/occasional fuck buddy was wearing a cape, Adam wasn't hugely surprised. People tended to look at Robin strangely. He assumed he was imagining it when he heard the word "vampire" hissed out from that direction, shaking his head to clear it as he headed to his locker to drop off his games kit, as he wouldn't need it until rugby trials started next week. "Guess there's a few less kids starting than left last year, half our row is empty now. Think we scared them off Adam?" Looking along the row, Adam realised his friend was right. "Let's hope so, it'll be nice not to be crammed in by bodies whenever I need a different book." Slinging his backpack back on, Adam followed Robin to their new form room. He couldn't shake the prickling anxiety today though, he felt on edge and couldn't put his finger on why.

-ASYD-

 **No bonus points for guessing who the new woodwork teacher is!**


	10. Unwelcome Changes

**Nothing recognisable is mine.**

 **To the new followers/favouriters, thank you! I'm happy my Adam!Vlad stuff isn't utterly terrible!**

 **I'm supposed to be working on Chosen Two, but this has kind of gotten hold of my attention span.**

 **Tidbit of author fun trivia - I kept almost writing Adam instead of Vlad when updating NSBN? and I keep almost writing Vlad writing this, it's hard to reconcile two names to one person.**

 **And now I'm rambling... On we go!**

-ASYD-

"I'm Mr Van Helsing, and I'm here to help you turn wood into could!" Adam groaned internally, this teacher set off something and he wasn't sure what, and that play on words was pitiful. Robin was sketching next to him, no doubt another vampire picture. Van Helsing appeared behind them, the prickling feeling worsening in his proximity. "Branagh, put this rubbish away!" Robin scowled, shoving his sketchbook back into his backpack and they returned to pretending to pay attention. The dark skinned boy they'd seen earlier, Jonathan he thought his name was, kept looking down at his desk sadly. Adam felt a mild pang of pity for the boy, it was hard enough being the new kid, let alone the new kid with a parent teaching at your school. The end of lesson bell had never been more welcome as Adam scrambled into his jacket, shrugging on his backpack and leaving the room as fast as possible. Robin caught up with him at their lockers, and Adam noticed a new sticker. "Erin Noble?" "That's me, I just started today." Turning to the voice, Adam found a pretty girl with blonde hair and a shy smile. "Adam Giles, looks like we're locker mates. This is my friend Robin." Erin shook both their hands, struggling with the locker for a moment before it opened. "Can either of you show me the way to English? I missed first class because it took a while to file paperwork when my brother Ryan kept acting up." Adam was about to volunteer but Robin pushed past him, pulling up the smile he thought looked charming. Adam never pointed out otherwise because he didn't want to offend his friend.

It was a moot point anyway, as Erin was in their class so effectively they both showed her along. Erin sat down with them, Robin scrambling to sit next to the blonde girl. He could see Robin was already jealous, both of the idea Adam liked her and because Robin probably hoped Erin would like him too. Adam didn't have the energy required for jealousy, forcing his tired eyes to focus on their book. Shakespeare was a curse, thick bland reading and overemotional teenagers not conducive to lengthening his already low attention span. The new girl didn't say much to Robin, and Adam wanted to slap his friend for how obvious he was being, but knew Robin would accuse him of being jealous and it was hassle he didn't need. Erin excused herself to go find her younger brother at first break, so Adam dragged Robin into the art classroom used for storing supplies. "Robin, you're my friend so I'm obligated to tell you you're embarrassing yourself." The boy scowled predictably, and Adam knew what was coming. "You're just worried I'll find someone who wants more than a quick fuck from me." "We're friends aren't we?" Robin seemed to struggle for a minute, forcing his face to relax. "Yeah, of course we are. But that doesn't mean you can stop me looking for more than secret fucks when you have bad dreams." Shrugging, Adam nodded. "Go for it Robin, but that girl is painfully shy and you're coming on too strong. Just friendly advice." Leaving his friend, Adam headed outside to let the cool September air wash over his tired face.

Truth be told, Adam wondered if he had the energy to maintain the strange "friends with benefits" thing with Robin at times, but the aches and pains, inside and out where Robin bruised and injured his body were almost the only things that held off the anxiety of his near-constant nightmares lately. Their brief disagreement didn't stop Robin coming over after school, the almost expected trade of George heading to the Branaghs to no doubt discuss the first day of 'big school' with Chloe. There was no time for pretense as they fell into Adam's bed, bruising grip on his narrow hips and a harsh bite to his shoulder as Robin thrust into him. The stretch and burn was a welcome break from the weight of anxiety and exhaustion settling on his skin, almost feeling it wash away when they stumbled into the shower after. Half his torso was littered with bruising, mostly in the shape of Robin's teeth but there were fingertip bruises scattered over the peaks of his hip bones, halfway up his back and across his upper arms where Robin would trap him against the bed. Pulling his casual clothes on for the afternoon so he wouldn't scare his mother, Adam saw Robin watching him darkly in the mirror as he reapplied the concealer over the evidence of his poor sleep. "Why are you doing this?" Finishing the 'blending', Adam turned back. "Because my mum doesn't need more stress, and a few sleepless nights aren't going to kill me."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. You don't even... finish most of the times I'm here, what's the point of it all?" Robin wasn't wrong, Adam rarely came when they fucked, chasing the burning pain more than anything else and relishing the stinging soreness for days after. "I don't have to 'finish' to want it, just be happy you can get your end away on a regular basis like a normal teenage boy!" Adam found himself pinned against the wall, Robin pushing him firmly. It looked like Robin was deciding whether to kiss him or punch him, and Adam couldn't find himself to care either way as the unforgiving hard wall made his back hurt more, the pain in his bitten shoulder under Robin's tight grip flaring through him. Robin clearly felt the shift in Adam, looking down at the new pressure on his stomach. "I told you, this is what gets me off. Surely you aren't surprised?" This seemed to make the decision for Robin, biting at Adam's lip and dragging him back to his bedroom. They didn't bother undressing again, grunting and frotting against each other as Robin's hands slid under his jumper and clawed at his skin until he shuddered in release above the other boy. As soon as he could move again Adam fumbled at Robin's fly, pulling out the renewed erection and going down on Robin until he keened and spilled down his throat. Wiping his mouth a he sat back, Adam got up to change into clean boxers, grumbling that he'd have to do more laundry again as Robin righted his jeans and watched him change.

Checking his concealer was still intact, Adam turned to Robin. "Feel better now?" Robin nodded, getting up off his bed and pulling his trench coat back on. "I better get back, not sure your body can handle another round tonight." They kissed goodbye, the ache in his sore lip a new spark for Adam as he led Robin to the front door. "See you tomorrow then?" Adam nodded, closing the door behind Robin and throwing himself over the sofa. The sting in his lower back was doing it's job, letting Adam relax in a way he couldn't when his body didn't hurt. Checking his watch and realising his mum would be back soon, Adam dragged his body upright to start making dinner. Another check in the reflection of the microwave said his coverup was still fine, so Adam felt no concern when his mum came through the door, George in tow as he finished making coffee. "Ghost features, you don't even like coffee!" George could smell the rarely-used drink immediately, and Adam mastered the urge to scowl at her being nosy. He hated the random impulses to get angry with his little sister, pressing against a bruise on his side until the pain tempered the irritation. "I blame Robin, he had me drink it to keep us awake when we played that vampire game all night and I've craved it ever since. Don't worry munchkin, I'm not giving up tea or our hot chocolate days!"

George hugged round his middle then, and Adam was thankful his mum was looking the other way as he expected his face tightened with pain. They sat down for dinner, Adam smiling when his mum congratulated him on cooking something other than steaks. "I can cook! You just love pre-making stuff in bulk so I rarely have to." "Adam, you once burnt corn flakes!" Grinning around his potatoes, Adam barely managed to swallow before he choked on laughter. "I thought 'toasted corn flakes' was instructive, not descriptive!" "Yes, and the house smelled like burnt cereal for a week. The firemen were highly amused to find you clutching the box and crying." George was giggling, she'd only been about three when this happened and probably didn't remember. "I was seven years old, I thought I'd get in trouble." Pouting as he returned to his dinner, Adam let himself enjoy the relaxed set of his body for once, content in this moment with his family. Resolving to acquire more coffee in the morning before and after his early paper round, Adam made tea and they sat together watching a show about mythology - a shared love of he and his sister. He felt absolutely fine until the tone of the show switched to vampires, and both his mum and George noticed the tighter set of his shoulders. "We can turn it off Adam?" Ruffling George's hair, Adam shook his head. "Nah, you two enjoy it. I'm gonna go read in my room and try to sleep early, those papers won't deliver themselves!" Adam let his mum kiss him goodnight, fighting the urge to cry out in pain when George clung around his midriff again before he dashed upstairs.

Stripping off his jumper and swiping a damp tissue over his face, Adam took in his body. The bruising and scratches were stark against his pale skin, the bite mark in his shoulder had clear breaks where Robin had torn the skin open. Antiseptic stung as he cleaned the bite, but Adam knew bite marks could get infected, and Robin rarely lost control enough to break the skin that way. If he weren't already so pale, makeup wouldn't be enough to hide the toll his sleepless nights were having. The injuries made it look like he'd lost a nasty fight, but the smirk that curled over his mouth as he traced over them was dark and happy. Hearing footsteps outside, Adam scrambled back into his clothes and hid his face behind a book quickly. His mum peered round his door, finding Adam re-reading "Harry Potter". "Are you sure you're alright son? You know you can talk to me?" Adam nodded, feeling the dull ache in his back from his poor choice of sitting position. "Fine, I just... you know. Plus I'm almost done with my book and I've got my round before school." His mum nodded, smiling almost sadly at him as she left. Adam felt guilty then, the whole point of his tempering the issues his dreams were giving him was to protect his family from worrying about him. Resolving to step up his efforts Adam changed into pyjamas and lay down in the dark, staring up at his ceiling for hours before sleep, and inevitably the dreams took him.

-ASYD-

 **So, here you go, another chapter!**

 **... I don't know what else to add here, I should be working on Chosen Two but I have zero inspiration right now.**


	11. Friend Indeed

**Does it look like I ever owned the characters?**

 **Yep, back again to update this! It keeps growing longer and longer even though I know where I want it to go and how it will end.**

 **Shout out to** **kellym01.2 for telling me they like my work, and letting me bounce ideas off you!**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Feeling more tired than when he went to sleep, Adam looked at his watch to find it was barely 5am. While it was too early even for his paper round, it meant he had more time to indulge in a heavy amount of coffee after he crawled into his jeans and hoodie, brushing his teeth quickly and downing two mugs of hot caffeine before he left on his bike. After he got in, he heard his mum starting to wake and hurried to put on the concealer before she saw the deep bruise-like marks under his eyes. She passed him on her way to the bathroom, patting his hair affectionately as he went to get into his uniform. Remembering his resolution from the night before, Adam plastered a smile on his face when he came back out ready for school and went down for more coffee. His mum seemed surprised to see him looking so 'alert' and happy this early, making his eggs extra buttery as George appeared, sleepily rubbing her eyes and foraging for fruit juice and cornflakes. "Don't put these in the toaster Adam, remember that!" Flicking George on the ear gently, Adam smiled at his little sister. "I'll try and remember, you'll just have to keep me safe." That got him a hug as George passed to get ready for school, barely making it down the stairs in time for the Branaghs to knock at their door.

Adam downed the last of his fourth coffee that morning, feeling the spike of caffeine fill his veins and gritting his teeth to hide his grimace when his mum squeezed his shoulder affectionately. The pain flared as he left, sparking through him with the coffee and making him feel much better than he thought it should as he fell into step with Robin. Robin luckily managed to take his cheerier attitude in stride, acting fairly normal with him throughout the day and even remembering not to overdo it when Erin appeared near them. More than one boy was eyeing up the soft-spoken blonde girl and Adam couldn't help laughing at their lack of subtlety, it was obvious Erin was a shy girl and the bull-headed approach he knew most of the boys would favour would only serve to scare her off. A boy with a surprising amount of scruffy stubble over his cheekbones at 13 and floppy brown hair stopped to hug Erin, and Adam assumed this was the brother she mentioned - a suspicion confirmed by Erin when they reached their first class. "That's Ryan, in the year below us. He's not as dangerous as he looks." Given the things Adam dreamed about, he didn't think Ryan looked all that dangerous at all but nodded in agreement anyway. "Whereas my little sister is much scarier than she looks." Robin chuckled in acknowledgement, having seen George's fiery intelligence and witty attitude many times.

George was predictably in and out to change and dash over to the Branaghs, which left Adam alone to burn off his excess energy by heading out for a run, enjoying the chilled air on his skin and returning home to punish his body further, only stopping when his body ached and he had to drag himself into the shower. His skin still stung under the water where Robin had broken it, giving Adam the push he needed to relax in front of the TV with tea rather than more strong coffee after he touched up the concealer under his eyes again. His mum smiled brightly when she found him like this, seeing the lack of coffee in his mug and the relaxed set of his shoulders. He returned the smile, even feeling less forced as he did so when she pulled out the dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets Adam would never admit to liking. "I'll text George to come home for dinner, she'll be angry if she misses out on biting the head off a t-rex!" That won him a laugh from his mother, warming him as he fired off a message to his little sister to come home for dinosaur dinner. Predictably his sister appeared almost instantly, cheeks still flushed with laughter as she chattered on about Mr Branagh looking utterly confused when Chloe asked him to help with her homework - "cognitive evaluations" or something like that. "He practically ran off mumbling about fixing a shelf, so we convinced Robin to do it. He's surprisingly happy for a 'weirdo goth child' according to the tests." "Of course he is, wearing black doesn't make you sad. Just look at Adam there."

Looking down at his black jumper, jeans and shoes, Adam wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. "Adam's secretly a ghost though, so he doesn't count." Biting the head off a chicken nugget viciously at his sister, Adam smiled. "True, do you think her tests would come back to say I was in fact dead?" "Oh, don't talk such silly things son?" Dropping his eyes, Adam swallowed the guilt of upsetting his mother. "Sorry mum." George drew their mum back into avid conversation and Adam forced himself to take part, to act more normal so his family wouldn't worry. Feeling the dull ache in his muscles, Adam mastered his dark mood and smiled along with them.

It worked for a month or so, and Adam found himself realising it was a week and a half until Halloween as he got in from his paper round, flicking through one of the spare ones over his coffee. His mum came in, holding the landline phone that was hardly ever used and saying "Elizabeth says someone has moved into the castle up the hill." Adam felt his cheeks warm slightly at the memory of what he'd done to Robin up by the abandoned castle, hiding behind his mug and humming in agreement. "Oh, and she said would you and Robin mind taking Chloe and George to the park later? She thinks they spend too much time up in Chloe's room looking at pictures. Well, Chloe does, we know George is outdoorsy." Adam nodded. "It'll be Robin that needs convincing, but I'll do it either way. I'll even take the camera." Shrugging into his school blazer, Adam grabbed hold of a still-half asleep George, pushing her lunch into her backpack for her and practically tossing her out of the front door. "I've told you to stop staying up late playing games, mum will take your phone again!" George glared up at him, the effect somewhat lost in her tired eyes. She perked up when she heard about the trip to the park later, though Chloe looked slightly less thrilled but George's energy was infectious. Unsurprisingly, Robin was reluctant and Adam said he didn't have to go, which Robin leapt on. "I'll come round tomorrow though, yeah?" It had been a week or so since Robin last 'came over', so Adam nodded, already craving the burning sensation and bruises.

Looking at his recently trimmed fringe, Adam combed it over to the side again - George constantly teased him for spending so much time on his hair - and made sure his hair didn't look too messy. Pulling on a jumper, Adam looked at himself. His body was still bulking out more, not hugely as he spent far too little of his time alone remembering to eat but the muscles were evident against the jumper that almost didn't fit him anymore. Wriggling into his jeans and tying up the shoes he'd got for his birthday, he pushed his phone into his pocket and went next door to grab the girls. George was like a rocket, considerably more eager than Adam expected considering the park wasn't hugely far away, or exceptionally exciting. Maybe George was feeling a little cooped up after their energetic summer time. Chloe was still reluctant, but George dragged her onto the swings and Adam sat down to keep watch, smiling fondly and taking pictures like he'd promised. Looking around, he could see what were clearly other older siblings in similar positions, though they looked more bored than happy. Adam would never admit to staring when his eyes found a pale girl sat under a tree by herself, dark hair sweeping down over her shoulders and framing her face. She was dressed fairly similar to him, though in boots and with a red jacket highlighting the colour of her lips.

"Busy?" Turning around, Adam jumped when he found Erin sat next to him. "Nope, just watching my sister and her friend." Adam nodded over to the giggling girls. "I believe you, thousands wouldn't given that you were looking in the opposite direction." Feeling his cheeks flush slightly, Adam stared more resolutely at his sibling and her friend. "Ghost features, push me!" "That's not fair on Chloe munchkin!" Realising Erin had heard him exchanging silly nicknames with his sister, Adam looked out of the corner of his eye carefully. "Ghost features? I'm guessing you're paler than her all year round?" Adam nodded. "Yep, we spent a month in South America and I actually almost turned into crispy bits." Erin pulled him up, pushing him over to the swing set. "I'll help, us blondes got to stick together eh?" Chloe smiled at the 'new friend' and George squealed with joy when Adam pushed her higher. The young ones tired of the swing, deciding the climbing frame would make an acceptable pyramid for them to pretend to climb up. Ensuring he got evidence on the camera of Chloe clambering up the metal frame, Adam looked over by the tree but the pale girl was gone. Turning back to Erin, he was surprised by the faint flutter in his stomach as he looked at her cheeks flushed with laughter. "I'm guessing the energetic one is your sister?" "Yep, that's George." Erin cocked her head, looking at him in confusion. "George?" "Yep, her name is Georgina but she hates it and won't even answer to it unless it's our grandparents." Erin made an 'ah' noise of understanding.

"So, what are you doing here? I would have thought Ryan was a little old to need taking to the park." Looking around, Adam couldn't even see her brother. "He is, he's at home. I fancied a walk and recognised you sat all by yourself... ghost features." Erin was smirking cheekily at him now, lightly mocking his nickname. "So what brought you to Stokely?" Erin's face seemed to fall slightly, looking over at the climbing frame rather than him. "Our mother was in an accident, we had to move in with some relatives." Unsure if it was appropriate but feeling guilty for putting that look on her face, Adam briefly wrapped an arm around her shoulder before letting go. "Yeah, my stepdad - George's father, he died earlier this year and we moved to start over. My mum couldn't stay in the house he died in." "So, you and George don't have the same dad?" Shaking his head, Adam turned to look for signs of judgement. "No, but Michael never failed to treat me like I was his own, he was an amazing man." Erin backtracked quickly, obviously not wanting to upset him. "Sorry, that came out wrong. In case it wasn't obvious by our different hair colours, Ryan and I don't share fathers. He was the product of my moms rebound after my dad left rather than stay to be a father. Or so she says, I was obviously barely a newborn at the time. His father made the effort to be around though, and he'd take me out on their family days out. It didn't last forever though, we live with our aunt and uncle now."

Feeling his phone buzz in his pocket, Adam looked to find his mum ringing him. Mouthing "sorry" to Erin, he answered. "Is everything alright? You've been gone over an hour?" "Yeah, the girls are having plenty of fun, George is currently hanging upside down and declaring she's a bat and I'm talking to a friend from school." "Alright then, just be sure to get back before it gets too dark son. Love you!" "Love you too mum." Erin was smiling when he hung up his phone, and Adam wondered if she was mocking him. "What?" She shook her head, her smile widening and there was the hint of butterflies again. "From what I hear, the only friend you have is Robin so I feel very special to be included. Plus it's sweet to see a guy who isn't afraid to say stuff like that to his mum." Feeling his cheeks flush slightly again, Adam smiled back. "We live next door to the Branaghs, they sort of attacked us with social love and care the minute we moved in. Chloe and George became friends the minute they realised they both like Latin and archeology." "Interesting hobbies." "Yeah, George has wanted to be an archeologist since she was six. And Chloe is some kind of proper whiz kid. They suit each other well."

Checking his watch, Adam sighed. "This has been fun, but I better wrangle those two home before mum sends out a search party. See you at school?" Erin leant in and kissed his cheek, and Adam could hear George wolf whistling. "See you at school ghost boy." Pretending to pout petulantly, Adam winked at Erin and waved her off before going to pry his sister and Chloe from the climbing frame. "Come on you two, I'm supposed to have you back before it gets dark and it's already getting dark." "Who was that girl Adam?" Rolling his eyes at his nosy sister, Adam poked her in the neck until she squealed. "Her name is Erin, she's a friend from school. We were talking about family stuff." George fell quiet at that, and Adam felt guilty for upsetting her. Waiting until they were nearer home, Adam bent down and picked them both up in one arm each, carrying the giggling children up the hill to their homes. Depositing them down, Adam waved at Chloe as she went home grinning and dragged George back in. "Mum mum mum! Adam's got a girlfriend!" Their mum looked at Adam in confusion, and Adam shook his head. "I was talking to a friend from school, Erin. George saw her kiss me on the cheek to say goodbye and suddenly she's picking out china patterns for us." George was sent up for her bath while their mum made dinner and Adam made tea. "So, you don't have a girlfriend then?" "No mum, me and Erin were talking about how we each ended up here in Stokely. It was just friends stuff?" His mum seemed to accept that, taking the camera back and smiling at the pictures he'd taken. "Is this her?" Adam looked, nodding when he saw the picture of Erin smiling as she pushed Chloe on the swings. "Yeah, she said blondes have to stick together." "She looks like a nice girl." "She is, but despite George crowing the opposite, we are just friends."

The little devil in question appeared, letting Adam smooth out her hair and sipping at her tea before they sat down for dinner. Both Adam and his mum knew George would be flagging soon, and sure enough she was dozing on her pillow over Adam's lap before long when they sat down to watch TV. Rather than wake her, Adam lifted her carefully and took her up to bed. Returning to finish his tea, Adam sat next to his mum again. "Son, you would tell me if something was up wouldn't you?" Schooling his face into one of confusion, Adam looked at her. "What do you mean?" "Well you're getting older now and the only person you really spend time with other than us and rugby practice is Robin..." Ignoring the taste of the lie on his tongue, Adam tried to choose his words carefully. "I've kind of been focused on stuff other than girls, but if what you're asking is "are you gay son?" the answer is no. And me and Robin are just friends too. Does that answer your question?" He could feel the defensive edge leaking into his words, forcing himself to smile at his mum. "Sorry son, I didn't mean to get all prying. Yes, thank you for humoring me and answering my questions." He held the smile when she reached over to ruffle his hair, downing the last of his tea and heading up to bed. Most of his bruises were faded by now, so Adam was anxiously awaiting the next afternoon when Robin came over.

Wiping the makeup off his face, Adam realised he was going to have to go and get more soon. Most of his money from his paper round was accumulated and sat in his desk, so Adam was weighing up asking Erin or Robin to go shopping with him. Robin would be livid if he asked Erin, but Robin hated shopping. Not that he knew if Erin enjoyed it, or if she'd even want to spend time with him again. Shaking his head, Adam climbed into his pyjamas, forgoing his usual before bed exercise knowing Robin would be here tomorrow to fill his quota of nightmare-beating pain. For once his sleep was nightmare free, but he was so used to waking in the night he still couldn't sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time. Crawling out of bed for coffee, delivery and his uniform, Adam smudged concealer under his eyes again and pocketed the tube. Looking in the mirror, he could see the greyish tint in his eyes that told just how exhausted he was. Shrugging the thought away, he pushed himself to school with relative ease as long as he kept the thought of later in his head. Erin smiled at him more throughout the day, sitting between he and Robin rather than at the end of their table and Robin looked more and more confused by the end of the day. She waved goodbye as they went their seperate ways after school, and Robin barely lagged behind the others long enough to hiss out "what's with you and Erin?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Adam answered with "When I took our sisters to the park I bumped into her, we chatted for a bit. That's it." Fairly sure Robin didn't believe him, Adam didn't really care by the time they were naked on his bed again.

Feeling the familiar burn inside him, the scrape of teeth and nails over his pale skin and bruises pressed into his hips, Adam finally felt relaxed as Robin rolled off him. Hurrying through the joint shower, Adam threw on a hoodie that actually bagged over his lean frame and combed out his hair. Robin, like usual, watched as he covered the marks of exhaustion under his eyes. He never said anything, but Adam knew he was thinking something. Sitting down carefully with coffee, Adam spread his homework over the table and waited for Robin to join him. By this point Robin was comfortable enough making his own tea, looking at Adam's coffee in distaste. "How much sleep are you substituting with that stuff?" Shrugging, Adam focused on the sparks of pain in his back and the equations in front of him. "I've lost track at this point, I'm a pile of bruises, caffeine and concealer wrapped in pale skin and a surprising amount of muscle." The boys in rugby no longer looked at Adam like they expected him to snap in a strong breeze, engaging him roughly and usually knocking against one of the many bruises in his skin. Robin spent a fair amount of their time together mapping the muscles of his torso with his nails, scratching lines over the shape of them.

Casually mentioning he was considering going shopping, Robin predictably vehemently denied interest. Well, he'd given him the option. The next day of school he utilised the time Robin was being told off for wearing horror make up to school (again) to ask Erin if she wanted to accompany him. She'd seemed surprised, then asked if he was asking her out. He shook his head, trying not to act too overzealous. "No no, I just had fun the other day and wondered if you'd want to hang out more?" Erin agreed, trading phone numbers so they could meet up on Saturday. She'd asked why not Sunday when it would be quieter, and smiled sweetly at him when he explained Sunday was pyjamas, hot chocolate and movies with his family. "That's very sweet. I'll give you a text tonight to sort it out yeah?" Nodding, Adam smiled to himself as the school day ended. He forced himself not to watch his phone like a lovesick schoolboy at home, doing homework with George and cooking steak and vegetables again. George still smirked knowingly when he picked his phone up the second it buzzed, laughing when he playfully shoved her to the stairs for her bath. Erin said she didn't know Stokely so well yet so Adam said they could meet by the park, it was only twenty five minutes walk to the shopping centre from there. There was a strange hint of nervous excitement as he hunted out what to wear, brushing out George's hair between showering and sorting out his money, bag and outfit. Settling down feeling slightly more prepared to wait for George to predictably fall asleep on the pillow in his lap again, Adam smiled genuinely at his mum when she got in from work. "Good day today son?" Nodding, Adam was surprised to find that he meant it. "Yeah mum, it was. I'm hanging out with Erin again tomorrow, seeing as Robin won't and I can't remember the last time I actually spent the money I get up at the crack of dawn to make."

"So you're off out shopping?" Adam nodded, checking his mental calendar. "You're off work all weekend, so you and George can have some quality time tomorrow and then we can have our usual Sunday stuff together?" "Very true son. Would you mind taking George up to bed? I do hate to wake her." Nodding and standing up carefully with George in his arms, Adam bid his mum goodnight and headed upstairs, depositing George in bed and taking himself off to try and be well rested for his day out (not a date mum!) with Erin tomorrow. Checking over his stuff again just in case, Adam set his alarm so he'd have plenty of time and curled up on his bed with a book to help relax him before sleeping.

-ASYD-

 **Whoa this chapter ended up pretty freaking long... Well, enjoy?**


	12. Hidden Sides

**Nope, no owning.**

 **I'm having fun with this story, though I apologise for anyone who was unprepared for the darker turn it's taken. It's going to look like it's getting better but the likelihood is it probably won't.**

 **As for everyone else, on we go!**

-ASYD-

Getting up the next day, Adam found himself smiling as he thought of meeting up with Erin. He'd even slept pretty well, the circles under his eyes didn't look as stark before he covered them. Brushing his teeth, styling his hair and pulling on his outfit, Adam felt some of his usual anxiety that seemed to weigh on him constantly but there was a mild excitement as he tied his shoes. George and Chloe were sat in the living room doing homework together and Adam saw their mums sat in the kitchen chatting happily. "You look lovely Adam, going somewhere nice?" Smiling politely at Mrs Branagh, Adam shook his head. "Just out with a friend, I've got my phone if you need me mum." They waved him off, George calling out "Enjoy your date!" just to wind him up a he headed down to the park. He was a little early to meet Erin, leaning against a bench and spotting the same pale girl he'd seen before over under a shady tree. Dragging his eyes away, he spotted Erin heading over looking even prettier than usual in slim fitting jeans not unlike his own, paired up with black boots and a deep blue t-shirt. "So, ready to go?" Nodding, Adam watched as Erin fell into step with him as they headed out. Chatting amicably about school work and things, it was similar to time with his family and a polar opposite to his time spent with Robin.

Erin was witty and funny, smiling at his jokes and trying to convince him to buy hideous things when they walked through the shops. Adam retaliated by holding up something in a vile shade of green and swearing it would go wonderfully with her current outfit. She shoved playfully at his arm, and when they stopped off to get lunch she sat opposite him smiling brightly. The flush of happiness in her cheeks made his stomach flutter again, and Adam focused on his burger trying to ignore the feelings. Erin actually giggled when he admitted he needed to buy makeup and hairdye, though he didn't explain why he needed concealer and Erin didn't seem hugely surprised that his hair wasn't naturally black as night. "I've considered bleaching mine, going from dirty blonde to white blonde, what do you think?" Adam was surprised by his sudden response of "No!" Erin looked at him strangely, his cheeks flushing yet again. "I just, I like your hair as it is." Erin smiled at him shyly, her own cheeks lighting up red. It was innocent and sweet and nothing like Adam was ever usually interested in as he felt his heart skip a little at the sight. They continued walking through the stores, and he jumped a little when Erin's warm hand wrapped around his. Unlike with Robin, he didn't reject the contact.

They picked up drinks and snack foods, walking down to near the park and sitting on an empty bench together. The conversation deepened, talking of family again. "Ryan's struggling alot, since his dad stopped being around and then losing mom so suddenly. He sees a therapist now, but it's slow progress. He's a good kid, he's just... lost." Sipping at his cola, Adam chewed on her words. "George is only just starting to come back to herself the last month or so, before that she was quiet and sad and shy. Nothing like she was before Michael died." Erin reached over from her side of their seat, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently. "What about you? It has to have been hard on you too." Forcing himself not to reject the gentle contact, Adam looked at their linked hands. "I didn't let it be, I had mum and George to look after. I know that's unhealthy but I have ways to cope, it's fine." Peering at him closely, Erin clearly wanted to ask. "Is that why you always wear sleeves?" Looking down at his jumper, Adam shook his head. "Not like that, plus my rugby kit is short sleeved so that wouldn't work." The relief on her face was clear. "So how do you cope? It's obviously unconventional or you wouldn't be so mysterious about it."

Looking around to check nobody nearby was eavesdropping, Adam sighed. "Robin and I... take out frustrations on each other. We aren't a couple or anything, and I'm pretty sure he's losing patience with me during such times. I was honest when he said he liked me, that I wasn't in a good place for a relationship but he pushed me until I gave in to a 'friends with benefits' deal. He doesn't like me dealing with my problems with makeup and rough sex." He was waiting for Erin to withdraw her hand, to become horrified with what he was doing. When she didn't, Adam looked up hesitantly. She looked surprised at his honesty, and more than a little confused. "So, are you... you know, gay?" "Like I told Robin, I've not really stopped to think about it, I've had more pressing issues. I don't think so, I don't think I'm that hung up on gender when I'm so busy trying to figure myself out." Erin edged closer to him, looking up at him with her bright eyes full of expression. She didn't say anything, just leaned up and pressed warm lips to his. Soft and gentle, brushing over the others lips and it made his heart race in a way he didn't expect. He suspected Erin wasn't the only one blushing when she pulled away, looking down at her lap and smiling shyly. "Sorry, I just, I've wanted to do that since the first time you smiled at me."

Adam wasn't sure what to do with that information but couldn't stop himself smiling. Erin didn't deserve not to know where she stood though, so Adam pulled out more honesty. "I'm not sure what I can offer you Erin, I'm not... I'm not a bright and happy person and you are a ray of sunshine." She reached up, cupping his cheek and he leant into the warmth. "There's more to me than you know too, why don't we just take the time to know each other properly and go from there?" Her soft smile was unbelievably appealing, so Adam kissed her again. "What about Robin?" Erin looked away from him for a moment. "Do you mean about the fact he likes me, or that he's your... coping strategy?" "Both I guess." His heart was still hammering a little harder than usual as Adam waited for Erin to answer, still expecting her to drop his hand and leave. "Well, until we know what... this is, I'm not going to demand you suddenly drop your coping mechanism and possibly alienate your best friend. So for now, leave things as they are and we see where it goes. Is that okay?" Adam nodded, relief flooding through him. "Thanks for... being so understanding." Erin squeezed his hand again, still smiling softly at him. "I can see it in your face, you spend too much time carrying everyone else. I'm not going to be the one who pulls it out from under you until I'm sure I can catch you."

They chatted for a while longer, the sky darkening before they realised the time. Clearing up their litter and picking up the solitary bag he couldn't fit in his backpack, Adam let Erin take his hand as he walked her home through the moonlit evening, not knowing where she lived until now. Looking up at the building, he thought it looked a little dark. "Are you going to be alright on your own?" She looked up at him suspiciously. "No lights on, unless your entire family is Robin I figure they aren't home?" Erin smirked up at him for a moment, and the flutter in his stomach doubled as she stretched up to whisper in his ear. "I'm not afraid of the dark." Adam followed her with no conscious thought, letting her pull him into the darkened hallways of her home and lead him to what he assumed was her bedroom. Erin's eyes widened at his marked torso when she pulled off his shirt, the gasps of pleasure she made when he explored the new territory of her bare chest burning through him. She caught on quickly, biting at his undamaged shoulder and grappling with his jeans, only letting go so they could wrestle hers away. Everything was completely different, Erin's warm yielding body taking his cool firmness with ease, barely stopping to fumble for a condom as they kissed and touched. Her long painted nails weren't blunt like Robin's bitten ones, sharper pain as they dug into his back when she shuddered in release beneath him.

Laying next to each other after, panting into the near darkness, Adam wasn't sure what to make of the evening. "I promise this wasn't like, some endgame when I asked you to go shopping with me." Erin's still naked body was mildly distracting, the hum of contentment when he traced soft fingers over the soft curves that were all new to him making him smile against his will. "I didn't think it was, but you looked so... I don't know, intense in the moonlight that I couldn't quite resist you." Stretching, Adam could feel the sting and pain he'd come to rely on where Erin had left her own marks on him. "I've never, I mean. You know." Looking over in mild surprise, Adam could see the innocence in her eyes now. "I've never been with a girl, and with Robin I take, so this was a first for me too. I'm sorry if I hurt you though, I'm not really sure how to do gentle." Erin leaned over and kissed him, soft and sweet at odds with the frantic desire before. "I'll cope, I'll just take tomorrow to recover while you sit in your pyjamas and drink hot chocolate with your family." Adam let her kiss him for a while longer, pressing into her warm body and holding around her waist, exploring the way her body had peaks and curves with more curiousity than he expected to have.

They were pulled apart when Adam's phone started buzzing, his mum wanting to know where he was at gone 9pm with no word. "Sorry mum, me and Erin lost track of time talking in the park and I've just walked her home because it's dark. I'll be home soon." Erin smirked from the bed, watching him get dressed and check he had no visible signs of illicit behaviour. "So, I'll see you at school?" Erin nodded, not bothering to cover herself as she climbed off the bed and kissed him deeply. Picking up his bags, Adam let himself out and hurried home, claiming he needed to drop off his stuff and changing quickly out of clothes that no doubt smelled like sex and guilt. They were fast becoming his factory settings, plugging his dying phone in to charge climbing into the shower, feeling the sting of hot water over Erin's marks on his skin and suddenly realising Robin was going to notice them if they 'hung out' any time soon. Barely refraining from banging his head against the tiled wall in frustration, Adam dragged himself out from the cleansing spray to dry his skin roughly. There were faint smears of blood on the towel when he rubbed over his back and shoulders, surprise at his reflection when he turned to check his back in the mirror. Erin was rougher than he thought.

Hiding the towel in his laundry basket so his mum wouldn't see, Adam pulled on pyjamas and a heavy hoodie, joining his mum and a sleepy George on the sofa. "Did you have a good days shopping son?" Pulling up his 'normality', something beginning to feel like a chore, an act, Adam nodded. "Got some new jeans that aren't wearing out from all our outdoors stuff, new jumper, new t-shirt, more hair dye and spent a good few hours chatting with Erin in the park. Then I walked her home because it was dark, you'd never let me live down not being the perfect gentleman mum!" She nodded in agreement, laughing as George automatically rested her head on a pillow over Adam's lap, trapping him there. "Tea son?" Nodding in agreement, Adam looked down at his sister. He loved his family deeply, he really did. And he wished he knew why he felt so out of place with them lately, not quite resentful but sometimes exhausted by making himself act like there weren't darker things inside him. Erin had seen it, her shy smiles covering a frankly devilish side he'd found in her bed as she awoke his dark desires again.

Smiling in thanks when his mum handed him a hot mug, Adam sipped at the tea and let it warm him. His mum drew small talk out of him, guilt bubbling in his chest at the concern edging her smile, no doubt due to his short answers. After carrying George up to bed, Adam could have kicked himself when he realised he hadn't reapplied concealer over his tired eyes after the shower. Gripping his hair in frustration, Adam growled into his pillow. Digging his fingers into his clothes over the newer bite mark, he let the pain turn his muscles lax. Checking his phone, he found a text from Robin and a text from Erin. Erin's text was simple, checking he got home alright which he replied to affirmatively. Robin's was not so simple, saying the twins saw him kissing Erin in the park and asking why he hadn't come home until late. Anger flared hot in his gut for a moment, and if Robin had asked that to his face Adam was worried he might have punched him. "Why is it okay for you to like other people, tell me I'm a terrible person in between our hook ups but I spend one day with someone else and you're all over it?" Tossing his phone back on his bed, Adam lay back and scrubbed a hand over his face. He didn't want to be too honest with Robin, as it wasn't fair on Erin to announce what had happened without her permission but Robin wasn't stupid, he'd work it out when he next saw Adam's skin if nothing else.

-ASYD-

 **Ingrid & The Count will start to appear soon, so the story is starting to move along from just Adam's nightmares and on/off Robin-ship.**


	13. Clinging On

**Don't own characters *yawn***

 **Yep, back again! I spend more time writing fanfiction than I do sleeping... Not that I really sleep.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Robin didn't answer his text that evening, and Adam didn't check his phone for most of Sunday, letting the relaxation Erin had given him yesterday fill him enough to actually enjoy the traditional Sunday movie time. George went for her bath while Adam waited to wash off his hair dye, rinsing off in the shower and remembering to re-do his concealer after he dried his hair this time. Pulling on clean pyjamas, Adam was satisfied he looked his usual 'alert' self when he returned to help his mum sort out their school stuff for the following day while she put George to bed. Pushing the completed lunchboxes into the fridge, Adam smiled when his mum came back. "So, now George isn't here to tease you, how was your day with Erin really?" "It was good, she and her brother moved here after losing their mum to live with relatives. She understands you know?" "I get it, good friends are hard to find. Especially so young and who understand such things. But not a girlfriend?" Smiling in spite of himself remembering Erin's dark bedroom and warm body, Adam shook his head. "Yesterday was only the second time we've had a proper conversation. And honestly, I think we both just need a friend."

"What about Robin?" "That's different, I don't resent him for it or anything but Robin's never had anything but a full and supportive family. Erin's dad left before she was born, and her brothers dad was in and out of their lives. And they recently lost their mother. And I shouldn't be telling you any of this because it's her personal life." His mum mimed zipping her mouth and throwing away a key, making him chuckle against his will. "I get what you mean son, and so long as you're happy, I'm happy. Okay?" "Thanks mum. I know I get quiet and stuff, I'll try to do better." She ruffled his hair affectionately, hugging around his shoulders gently. "To be honest, you're practically a dream teenager. Other boys are out getting girls pregnant, drinking and smoking and doing who knows what. You take care of George, help keep the house running, hold down your job, your grades and make friends. You were an absolute rock when Michael died and you've been an angel in us getting back up. I'm so proud of you son." Guilt sparked in his gut as she spoke, thinking of how he abused his body in other ways to cope with the dreams she didn't know were getting worse. Choking a little on his words, he managed to get out "Thanks mum."

The lies and anxiety were thick in his throat when he finally escaped, tears hot on his cheeks as he closed his bedroom door. Swiping at the tracks, his hand came away smeared with the makeup he used and it made him cry a little harder. Wrapping himself in his quilt, shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs, Adam cried properly for the first time in months. Eventually feeling totally wrung out, he managed to fall asleep. The dreams were different tonight, 'Count Dracula' who's face still occasionally flickered to match the sketch of his father from his mum was being chased by "vampire slayers", someone called 'Van Helsing' who almost killed the Count in front of his children. 'Vlad', the one he almost always saw the dreams from the point of view of, was crying as he saw his dad get shot in the chest, somehow surviving thanks to the arrow hitting a metal flask in his pocket. Waking up before his alarm was even thinking of going off, Adam shakily climbed out of bed, scrubbing his face over quickly to remove the evidence of his tears and curling around a mug of strong coffee. The caffeine didn't help his shakes, barely managing to cover the blackened smudges of exhaustion on his face before dressing and doing his round. His mum was awake when he got back, promising to make him tea and breakfast while he dressed for school. Having forgotten to check his phone the previous night, Adam found a few texts from Robin and one from George complaining he hadn't answered her game requests.

It took three attempts to do his tie, hands still a little shaky and Adam clenched his fists until there were grooves in his palms. Picking up his bag and starting to work through the texts from Robin, Adam sipped at his tea and picked at his toast mechanically. One was from Sunday morning, less angry than he'd been Saturday night but following the same theme of complaining about Erin. The last was something like apologetic, though still obviously irritated. Figuring he'd see the boy in an hour anyway, Adam shoved his phone inside his blazer and smiled at George as she appeared in her uniform. "Morning munchkin." "Morning ghost boy, are you going to send me new jewels today or hold out on me again?" Promising to do so at first break at school, George had barely swallowed her toast and orange juice before the door knocked. Checking his watch and then the clock just in case, Adam exchanged a confused look with his mum. "The Branaghs are early aren't they? We don't need to leave for another fifteen minutes." His mum sort of shrugged at him, having no more idea than he as she went to answer the door. Handing George her lunchbox and packing his own, Adam led his sister to the door. "Have we missed the clocks changing or something? You guys are early." George dashed out to join Chloe, somehow having tons to say in spite of only being apart for one day.

"Are we?" Robin was clearly stifling giggles, hanging back from the group. "Did you change the clocks or something Robin?" "It's nearly Halloween, trick or treat time!" The Branagh twins both turned to glare at him, and Adam made sure to glare at them in turn when they turned back. They'd been the ones to tell Robin they'd seen him kissing Erin. Figuring it was pointless to go back by now, they headed down to the school early. George and Chloe were ahead, but the twins quickly both grabbed Adam and grinned. "So, who was the cute blonde Adam? We all thought you and goth boy here would end up getting married and hiding from sunlight forever." Shrugging them both off his injured shoulders, Adam checked to make sure the girls weren't listening. "I'm sure anyone who ends up with Robin will feel very lucky, at least he's not one brain shared between two bodies." Robin cracked a smile then, and the twins both looked at each other in confusion. They tried to ask him again, but Adam ignored them as they headed to school, hanging back with Robin as the others went in - they still had ten minutes to kill. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your texts, I didn't check my phone until this morning. George has been on my case about not answering her game requests all morning." Robin nodded, dark gaze fixed on Adam. "So, were the twins lying?"

Unsure if he could add more lies to the ones he was carrying, Adam shook his head. "No, but Erin said she wanted to do that for ages, then agreed we don't really know each other and that we should spend time actually becoming friends first. And I told her about you, and how you help me by... you know." "And how did she take that?" It was hard to gauge what Robin was thinking, his usually expressive eyes unreadable. "Fairly well, said it wasn't her place to judge how I deal with my problems and like I said, we're just going for friends. I'm still not anywhere near able to maintain a relationship, you know that." The bell rung then, and he received a stiff nod from Robin as they headed in to school. Erin winked at him when Robin's back was turned, and Adam felt another weight of guilt settle over his shoulders as the deception built but returned a smile regardless. He was used to guilt, what was a little more?

School passed in a blur, somewhere along the haze in his mind he found Erin joining them for the walk back from school and coming over to his house. Robin looked like he wanted to intrude, but something in Adam's eyes must have deterred him as he reminded George she and Chloe had more 'cognitive' studies to do on him. Feeling like he owed his friend big, Adam led Erin to the living room, barely stopping George in time to retrieve her empty lunchbox for the next day as she rushed off to the Branaghs with a knowing smirk on her face as she waved goodbye to them. Feeling somewhat awkward, he offered Erin a drink quietly as he poured more caffeine into his body. "So, what does everyone think is going on between us?" Erin quizzed as she accepted tea from him. "Well, as it turns out the twins saw us in the park, George wouldn't believe a word I say if I were hooked up to a lie detector when she has an idea in her mind, and Robin and my mum think we're just friends." Feeling the caffeine shake through his system again, he felt a little less dazed as Erin contemplated his words.

"Well, everyone thinks you and Robin are just friends too don't they?" Nodding, Adam sipped at fruit juice to mute the vile taste of coffee he both loved and hated in equal measure. "I'm getting far too good at lying these days." Erin seemed to know better than to ask at the look on his face, taking his hand and only speaking to ask which was his bedroom, school uniforms hitting the floor rapidly as they fell onto the bed. Making a mental note to ask why Erin had condoms if she was a virgin until two days ago, Adam took the comfort she offered. Checking his watch carefully as they separated, he was content there was still plenty of time before his mum returned home. "Counting the minutes?" Erin was still slightly breathless next to him. "No, checking how long until my mum gets back from home. I doubt she'd believe the just friends line if she finds you naked in my bed." Tracing touches over the curve of Erin's hip, Adam let the momentary relaxation take him as he felt the twinges where her nails had been. "So, do you do pillow talk or do you want to actually talk about what's bothering you so much you need bruises, concealer and coffee to function?" Quashing the impulse to get defensive, Adam rolled onto his back. "Sure, but first I need a shower. Coming?" Erin grinned at the double meaning but followed him anyway, careful not to get her hair wet and looking considerably unruffled when she pulled her uniform back on. Adam shrugged into jumper and jeans, offering Erin use of his hairbrush and taking her giggles in stride, feeling her gaze on him as he covered under his eyes again.

Replenishing their drinks, Adam flicked on the TV for background noise and they sat at opposite ends of the sofa to face each other. "You can ask me whatever you like, but while I remember - virgin who carries condoms?" Erin looked mildly surprised but smiled anyway. "A girl in my year at school got pregnant, so my mum gave me and Ryan both condoms and made us promise to always be safe." Tilting his head in acceptance, Adam sipped at his coffee. "So, I'm going to guess the coffee and makeup go together? How much do you actually sleep?" "It varies, but even when I do sleep, I rarely feel rested. I work out before bed, I go running, I play rugby and I give myself plenty of time to get a decent nights sleep. It all ties in to the dreams I have." Drinking deeply from her cup, Erin contemplated his words. "What's so bad about them?" "They didn't used to be so bad, or that frequent. Lately though, they are almost every night. It may sound silly, but I dream about... vampires." He could see the surprise in her eyes, but there was no judgement. "So are you just scared of them?" "It's not that, I don't mind them generally. I even tell George a heavily diluted version of my dreams as a bedside story and she loves it. But in my dreams, it's blood and fighting and killing and I see people die, I hear them tell me I belong to a war. I wake up all shaky and sweaty, sometimes four or five times a night. I feel tight and anxious almost all the time and I have to shelve it and worry about George and mum."

"So who's worrying about you?" Adam tensed, that was the point of all his deceptions. "I don't need people to worry about me, like I said, I cope. When my body hurts, either from Robin or now you, the pain sort of tempers the anxiety, it lets me relax and feel alright. The caffeine and concealer is just to cover up that I don't sleep." He wasn't about to mention that he worked out until it hurt for the rush of pain he got, Erin was already hearing more than anyone else had so far. Looking at his now empty cup, Adam got up to get more coffee. Erin still hadn't spoken and Adam could feel the prickling anxiety start to creep over his skin. "I'm sorry if I've said too much, I told you I'm not bright and happy." "Oh no, it's not that. It's just... I don't know how you hold it together." Sipping at the dark liquid his body ran on, Adam turned back to find Erin looking at him intently. "I cope. I see mum and George smiling and doing well considering everything. I have coffee when I don't sleep, concealer to stop anyone worrying and Robin when I need to lose my mind a little."

"Is that what I am? I won't be upset if I am, you were straight with me before I dragged you to bed and kind of halted conversation." Chuckling at the unexpected turn of events Saturday had led to, he shook his head. "No, not at all. I genuinely didn't expect anything like this. I just know it gives me butterflies when you smile and I feel funny inside when you blush. But I'm basically a mess, I don't have the emotional energy to actually hold down a relationship." Downing his coffee to hide his hands starting to shake again, Adam watched Erin carefully. "Don't look so scared, I haven't ran away yet have I?" "I'm still half-expecting you to." Erin put her cup aside, standing and heading over to him. "I've got school, and Ryan to contend with. I'll take what I can get, you might think you're all dark and dangerous but I think you're sweet and brave." She kissed him again, lacing their fingers together and smiling against his lips when he returned the contact. "Not many boys would handle this much by themselves for the sake of family." "I almost didn't get to know my family, I've never taken that for granted." Feeling warm hands loop around his waist, he looked down at Erin's bright eyes. "What do you mean?" "Ever tell her I told you and I'm dead, ok? My mum got pregnant at Whitby Goth Festival, I was some sickly runty baby and it was a month before I was well enough to leave hospital. This was when my gran, my mum's mum, said I should be put up for adoption. It was a pretty close thing, but mum fought to keep me and she did. So my family are everything, I can weather a few little storms to keep them happy."

"Like I said, sweet and brave. Are you shaking?" His hands were trembling again, unable to clench his fists as his fingers were wrapped around Erin's waist. "It happens when I've had too much coffee, it'll stop soon if I stay off the caffeine." Erin pulled him back to the sofa, arranging them to lie together closely and it was strangely comforting to feel her warm body blanket his. They didn't talk much, letting the TV fill the silence as his body stopped shaking and the exhaustion started to creep in again. "My mum's going to be home soon, I should get you home before I find your sweet smiles irresistible and she catches me kissing you." "Irresistible? Are you always this charming?" Smiling and kissing her anyway, Adam managed to sit up without knocking her off him. "Only by accident, I swear." Typing out a text to his mum to say he was walking Erin home and would be home for dinner, Adam locked the door behind them and saw George pulling faces at him from the window of the Branaghs. Returning the favour, he and Erin walked along the empty roads. Once they were clear of George's beady-eyed watch they resumed lacing their fingers together, and Erin stopped them at a corner near her house to kiss him softly. "Until tomorrow ghost boy." "Very funny. Yes, I will see you tomorrow." Running a hand through her soft, silky hair just because, Adam smiled as he watched her to her door, waving and turning to jog back home. He felt a little lighter after the emotional outpouring Erin had sat and taken in with no judgment, smiling brightly when he got home to find his mum cooking steaks. Clearly she wanted to reinforce their 'talk' yesterday, and Adam wasn't complaining as he relished his barely cooked meat.

George headed up to bed early to read the new book Chloe had lent her, something mostly in Latin that Adam couldn't even begin to understand. Actually comfortably hitting the sofa next to his mother and laughing as they watched some comedy panel show, Adam felt quite relaxed. "You seem brighter today, how was your time with Erin?" "Good, we chatted for a while, drank some tea and then I walked her home." Chatting to his mum amicably for another half an hour, Adam could feel the anxiety and tiredness start to edge back in and bid his mum goodnight before she could see him start shaking again. Robin had texted him to see if they were 'on' for tomorrow, and Adam eagerly accepted, already thinking of how he could lose himself in the familiar pain. Crawling into pyjamas then bed, he sighed to himself as his hands shook again when he tried to play the games George was nagging at him to answer her on. Forcing his fingers to cooperate for a few minutes, he fumbled to plug the phone in to charge and ignored the shaking when his hands were under his duvet. Sighing to himself again Adam rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, resolutely demanding sleep from his body. At this rate his caffeine habit was going to start making him ill, and concealer couldn't hide the tremors of his hands or the occasional pangs in his chest from an elevated heart rate. Which come to think of it, probably didn't help the constant sense of anxiety. Growling quietly for thinking too much, Adam pushed himself to drift off.

-ASYD-

 **I think this ended up another long one... I promise I know where this is all going.**


	14. Halloween Night

**Recognisable - not mine!**

 **Done Not So Bad Now?, should be working on Chosen Two... I'll get on that tomorrow...**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Between his paper round, school, George, exhaustion/nightmares and somehow having sex with both Robin and Erin at least three times each, Adam was surprised to find himself a week later, Halloween. Time was starting to blur together a little for him. The school Halloween Disco was a parent-chaperoned event, which meant Adam didn't have to go to keep an eye on George and Chloe - the Branagh twins were going but they were prone to distraction. He'd still took the time to tell the girls their costumes were great - George was Indiana Jones (again) and Chloe was a mummy. Robin was grounded for doing something involving a pumpkin and a candle that somehow exploded, and while Adam was sure Mr Branagh wouldn't turn him away if he went round, he waited until darkness fell before heading outside. Jogging along the roads and keeping a wary eye for traffic, Adam couldn't help but admire how creepy Stokely Castle looked against the night sky, a perfect Halloween scene. He remembered his mum saying someone had moved into the castle, and there were flickering lights scattered along a couple of windows.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare?" Jumping in surprise, Adam turned to the drawling voice. The girl he'd seen in the park a couple of times, dark hair sweeping over a pale, perfectly formed face. "It's Halloween and the castle looks cool, I didn't know buildings could get offended." The mystery girl had bright blue eyes, more silvery than his own greyish-tinted ones. She was missing the red lip stain he'd seen before, and was dressed solidly in black, a smudge of eyeliner making her eyes pop on the pale face. The girls mouth, lower lip just the right amount of full to look a little bit pouty, curled into a smirk. "Wouldn't you if some weirdo stared at you all day?" Fighting the impulse to think of Robin some days, Adam shook his head. "I don't know, I think it would be flattering." Her eyes flickered up and down the length of his body, something between dismissal and intrigue in her face. "Yes, I suppose you would." "So, is it you who's moved into the castle?" "Not that it's any of your business, but yes." Raising an eyebrow, Adam continued. "So are you going to be coming to Stokely Grammar?" The smirk curved a little higher then, and Adam felt his heart constrict somewhat at the dark smile. This was becoming an issue, he needed to get a hold of himself, and not that way.

"Me? Go to school? As if." Tilting his head in acknowledgement, Adam tried to smile and hoped it didn't look too forced. "Well, I'm Adam. Nice to meet you, enjoy your castle." The girl looked slightly surprised but considered him for a moment. "Ingrid." Supposing that was all he'd get out of the strange girl, Adam nodded. "Well, I need to finish my run. Happy Halloween... Ingrid." Adam jogged off again, not wanting to make a fool of himself and feeling a little out of his depth with the dark, beautiful girl. He thought he felt eyes on him as he went, but he wasn't about to embarrass himself by looking back. Not having pushed himself to the usual intensity he went for, Adam let himself back into his house and stood under the shower for a while. Pulling on a pair of shorts, he scanned his body. Robin hadn't seemed to notice the extra marks Erin had made, but then most of his torso was bruised, scratched or bitten now. He could even tell them apart somewhat, Robin's bitemarks broke skin but Erin's nails ravaged him. Checking his phone as he lay back on his bed, he found a text from Erin. "You and Robin both not at the disco? What's tonight, dress up as vampires before the biting?" Chuckling at the message, it did sound like something Robin would do, Adam typed out a reply.

"Robin's grounded, and I didn't want to dress up so I stayed home. What did you go as?" "Vampire slayer, maybe I can slay your nightmares!" "If only it were that simple, I'm dreading tonight already. Halloween can only make things worse." Sipping at the water bottle he forgot to take running with him, Adam grimaced at the taste. Constant hot coffee must have burnt away half his taste buds by now, water tasted even more bland and disappointing. "Well you know where I am if you need a teddy bear to help you sleep." "Sure, I'll just turn up to the school disco and tear your clothes off. My mum will love that!" Smiling in spite of himself, Adam stared up at his glow in the dark ceiling decorations. "After the disco you idiot. You said you've jumped out your window before. My house is empty tonight." Pulling together an overnight bag quickly, Adam got re-dressed and pulled pyjama bottoms on over his jeans. "Sure, I'll escape once they come back and I can pretend I'm going to bed." "Won't have to wait long, they just left." Hurrying down to make sure his bike was to hand - it'd be quicker to get home and pick up his paper round the next morning, Adam bounced anxiously in the kitchen holding a mug of hot chocolate. Sure enough, it wasn't long before his mum and George appeared. "Ready for bed this early on Halloween? Some ghost you are!" George's hat was lopsided, and there was chocolate down the side of her face and half of her costume.

"Well looks like someone was on the party food, I was tired so I got ready for bed. Hush up munchkin, unless you came back with the golden idol that is?" George grinned up at him, teeth stained pink from the "blood punch". Downing the rest of his drink, Adam faked a stretch and yawn. "I've got my paper round in the morning, I need to hit my bed. Night mum, night munchkin." "Night son." "Night ghost boy!" Smiling and heading back up to his room, Adam locked his door and tugged off his pyjama bottoms. He knew he couldn't leave immediately, they'd hear his bike or possibly spot him dropping down the drainpipe. Checking he had essentials like keys and condoms and his phone had enough battery to wake him up in the morning, Adam laced up his shoes and sat on his bed. "I'll hang out near the gates of the school soon, you can come get me like a Halloween knight in pale armour." Realising his 'dream teenager' list was slowly shrinking as he checked 'sneaking out all night' off the list, Adam heard his mum convincing a sugar-fuelled George to bed. Which meant she was in a back facing room. Seizing the chance, he shrugged on his bag, carefully pushing his window closed from the drainpipe, and crept out of his garden with his bicycle. The cover of darkness helped, letting him steal along the paths until he could jump on his bicycle.

The trip down to Stokely Grammer was barely a few minutes on pedals, and he found Erin dressed like something out of an old Dracula movie - very vampire slayer. "This isn't even a line, but we have got to get you out of that." "You don't like it?" Chuckling as he dismounted his bike and started walking alongside Erin, Adam shook his head. "Pretty sure I saw Jonno wear something like that when his dad asked if Robin had ever feasted on mortal blood. Is he your type now?" Erin shoved at his arm, careful not to actually knock his bike over. "What's with the wheels?" "Faster, and means I won't miss my paper round if we get too distracted to keep track of the time." Erin helped him lock his bike up at the side of her house, dragging him indoors and smirking as he tugged off her "costume". Dropping his bag and letting her tug off his clothes in return, they fell into bed again. "You wouldn't know you look like you lost a fight with a bear to look at you." Arching into the bite of her nails on his already-torn skin, Adam groaned. "Isn't that all part of the dark and mysterious?" Words stopped being important then as they kissed, fumbling to sheath his erection and letting the soft heat of Erin's body take him away from his fear of sleeping that night.

She was smiling when they seperated, blanketing his body with hers and kissing him roughly. As he hardened again from her ministrations, she simply winked and grabbed another condom. It was nearing 2am before they had to admit defeat against even their virile teenage bodies, Erin still shaking slightly with pleasure (he hoped) as she made good on her promise to be his teddy bear. Adam felt slightly strange wrapping his body around hers, but she was warm and yielding, rhythmic breathing lulling him to sleep. It wasn't a bad night dream-wise, another of the "Vlad doesn't want to be a vampire" saga where he had to stop any Draculas screaming on Halloween to become mortal. He'd failed when a slayer turned up, and when Adam woke up to the faint sound of his alarm, he returned Erin's sleepy smile, not feeling terrible as he'd expected. "Some of us have jobs, I gotta go. I'll text you later." Erin pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, nodding and rolling over to go back to sleep. Adam locked the door behind him, posting her keys through the mail slot and saddling back up on his bike. The sheer physical workout Erin had put his body through last night was catching up with him before he was half way through the round, and he'd never been so happy to see his bed when he got home, picking the lock of his door to get in. Stashing the overnight bag in his wardrobe to deal with later, he re-locked his door and fell into bed in nothing but boxers.

Adam didn't manage to sleep long enough to fall into a bad dream, rising an hour or two after he got home and thanking his lucky stars he'd remembered to lock his door again as he took in his torn-up chest. There was a heavy bruise just above the peak of his hip bone, where Erin had sealed her lips over and sucked until Adam almost came from the feeling, and he could feel nail mark indents in the back of his neck where she'd held him when he finally worked up the nerve to try going down on a girl. Apparently he was a "natural", though Adam wasn't sure if Erin was just saying it to make him feel better. Tracing the thin gaps of pale skin between injuries, he smirked to himself again before feeling guilt rise in his chest. His mum thought he'd got an early night, not spent it out without her knowledge going through half a box of condoms and having nightmares. Scrubbing at his eyes before tears could spring, Adam pulled on the pyjamas he'd discarded last night and dashed to the bathroom with concealer in hand. The shower rinsed the heavy smell of Erin off his skin, his pyjamas returned to his body before he covered up the evidence he really hadn't slept much Halloween night.

"You look even paler than usual ghost boy, did you sleep ok?" Nodding at George, who still looked a little green from the no doubt obscene amount of sugar last night, Adam smiled. "Yep, even grabbed another hour or two after my paper round." His mum handed him a mug of tea before apologising and saying she was running late for work, kissing his cheek and hurrying off. "So munchkin, just how much junk did you eat?" George groaned from her position on the sofa weakly. "Don't, I've never seen so many eyeball shaped jellies in my life and I had to try them all!" "Really? Because you came home covered in chocolate." "Oh, that must be why mum all but dropped me into the bath this morning. I wondered why I could still smell cake." Letting out a short laugh at his sister, Adam ruffled her hair. "How about we stay in our pyjamas and watch Doctor Who all day? Tom Baker always cheers you up." George nodded slowly, letting Adam lift her head up to rest on a pillow in his lap as she'd commandeered the length of the sofa. They passed a good few hours like this, and Adam tried to convince himself the good times made up for his lies to his family. Robin texted him half way through the day to say Chloe was still feeling awful after too much junk food, so Adam sent back a picture of George half-asleep on his lap, captioning it with "She hasn't stopped swearing off chocolate cake all day."

George finally surfaced from the Halloween-induced sickness by early afternoon, eating a peanut butter sandwich (no nutella, too early for chocolate) and deciding to change to 'Pirates Of The Carribean' when their mum got home from work. "Look mum, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom!" Both male celebrities his mum giggled shyly over sometimes, Adam tried to be objective. He supposed they were both attractive enough, but far too old for him to really quantify. Adam left the women on the sofa to enjoy the movies, hiding up in his room under the guise of homework and texting Erin between maths questions. "It's a good thing it's you with the job, I could not sit on a bicycle today." Feeling apologetic, Adam was quick to answer "I'm sorry for hurting you, I'll try to be more gentle." "Don't you dare, last night was... unbelievable." Flushing slightly, Adam scratched out the wrong answer he'd written while distracted. "I agree, but then I can walk normally today." "Don't be getting cheeky with me ghost boy, I could tell everyone at school you cry after sex." "I don't though?" "But who will they believe?" Conceding her point, Adam pushed away the completed maths and moved on to English. "So, what terrible teenage things are you up to today after sneaking out and having underage sex last night?" Grimacing slightly at the reminder, Adam shelved the guilt. It was too late to take back many of the things he'd done. "Romeo and Juliet homework, even I think this story is creepy and depressing." "Oh yes, you're not a Shakespeare fan." "No, no I am not. He's so dull, I will never understand the fascination with his work."

Erin took a while to answer this message, so Adam finished his essay fairly quickly. "Sorry, I realised I needed a shower before my aunt and uncle get home." Adam wondered why they left her alone at night sometimes, but he wasn't going to pry - Erin let him open up in his own time, she deserved the same courtesy. His mind wondered back to the girl he'd met last night by the castle... Ingrid. His heart still skipped a little thinking of her smirk, but he shook it off and went back to texting Erin various aspersions on Shakespeare's work. "I need to head out for a run, I'll text you tomorrow." Erin sent back an acceptance message, knowing he was trying to wear himself out to aid his sleep, so Adam plugged in his phone to charge and pulled on his running gear. "Dinners in the fridge son, just needs reheating." Nodding at his mum, Adam let himself out into the darkening evening. Breathing in a heady amount of fresh air, Adam resumed his jog that he'd cut short yesterday. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed when he wasn't accosted as he jogged past the castle again.

-ASYD-

 **Ingrid has arrived! It's still early days there, this story is not done yet!**


	15. Surpassing Expectations

**Don't own the characters... Sadly.**

 **Been busy writing one shots and two shots, so it's back to the stories now!**

 **I will warn in advance this is a very dark, probably confusing chapter.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Forcing his exhausted body to sit down and eat dinner when he got in so his mum could see, Adam dragged himself up to his room again and stripped out of his sweaty running gear. New bruises were still blooming, not yet developed when he awoke that morning. Relishing the dull ache when he pressed against some, he pulled on pyjama bottoms and fell onto his bed again. There was no chance Robin wouldn't notice what four or five hours of exhaustive sex with Erin had done to his body now, and Adam was torn between hiding and asking Erin if he could tell Robin. It could wait though, both of them knew tomorrow was 'family day' and Adam forced himself to roll over and try and sleep - he was certainly achey enough that the nightmares should stay away for now. Not that his mind was inclined to agree, images of battlefields and blood where vampires with hoods over their faces literally licked the fresh blood from the still warm bodies of the deceased. Waking up, he had to dash to the bathroom to vomit, regretting dinner heavily as he flushed away the evidence.

Rinsing his mouth when it seemed to have abated, he looked at his reflection. His usually pale skin was flushed from nausea, but the grey tinge to his eyes was almost obscuring the usual blue as he grew more exhausted. His chest and stomach looked like a storm cloud, the shadows under his eyes almost as stark as the blooming bruises on his skin. His whole back was covered in scratches in various shades of healing, and Adam hated himself for feeling his body respond to the sight and soreness. There was still a lingering ache from Robin a few days ago, though it was becoming almost routine now and Adam could only really take what he needed for a day after, his body adjusting to the rough stretch and burn.

There were still muscles under his pale skin, but he could see he'd lost weight as his body fought to keep running. Scrubbing a hand through the sweaty bangs on his face, Adam hurried back to bed before he was caught shirtless and damaged. He was only just in time, his door clicking shut as he heard footsteps in the hallway. Creeping as quickly as he could, Adam hid beneath his covers and pretended to be sleeping as his door was pushed open. "Adam?" was whispered quietly into the darkness, but Adam feigned sleep until his mum went away. As soon as his door closed his body started shaking again, and Adam wasn't totally sure he could keep holding it together. Uncaring of the late hour or the state of himself, he tugged on the nearest clean t-shirt and shorts, shoving his feet into shoes and scrambling out of his window.

He didn't care where he was going, just running and running until the roar of blood in his ears and the ache in his legs was all he could feel. Looking up at the castle, he wanted the quiet serenity he'd felt the first time he'd gone up there. Pushing exhausted muscles to go harder uphill, Adam scaled the sloping roads of Stokely until there was silence other than his heavy panting. Collapsing against the outer driveway wall, he pushed the sweaty hair off his face and tried to remember how to breathe. The sky was still pitch black, and he wondered how long he'd actually slept before the nightmares woke him again. The sweat on his skin felt chilled in the night air and Adam was sure he'd get very ill if he stayed out here until dawn. The ache in his chest receded a little, his throat still feeling raw but his body finally stopped shaking. "I'm sure I told you to go away last time." If he'd had the energy, he'd have jumped. As it was, his heart rate sped back up but Adam could barely muster the energy to look up at the girl. "No, you told me to stop staring. I left of my own accord."

"You look like hell. And coming from me, that's saying something." "You have no idea." Adam tried to stand up, but he couldn't make his legs hold himself up. A cold hand under his arm pulled him along, resting him against a stone plinth that contained a gargoyle. "Thanks." "What the hell is wrong with you?" "How long have you got?" The girl looked at her watch. "Technically all night, depending on whether or not my father catches you here. Then I've got the rest of my life." Barely managing to pull the thoughts together to understand, Adam raised an eyebrow. "Tell him to kill me instead, I could do with the sleep." "No way has only lack of sleep done this to you." "No, the vampires did this to me." Ingrid's eyebrows raised at this. "And that means...?" Sighing and pulling off the damp t-shirt, Adam realised the mistake when Ingrid gasped. "Not this, this was humans. The vampires in my dreams, Count Dracula and Vlad and someone with a funny French name and bats and blood and slayers and it's all too much. Why do I dream about this? Ugh!" He was glad the castle was a little out of the way as he ranted, clutching his hair and feeling his muscles shake.

"So you have nightmares about vampires and get beat up?" "No no, the bruises are voluntary. Well, I don't suppose my skin gets a say but I more than asked for them." Smooth fingers followed the heavy bruising on his collar, traced the trail of scratches down his back, tingling and making his already tired muscles shiver. "Nobody asks for this." "I do, the pain stops the nightmares from haunting me in the day. I think the term is masochistic, but I'll settle for insane." Finally feeling steady enough to stand, he pushed himself up. "Well, thank you for this fascinating trip into my psyche, I should go find somewhere else to haunt until dawn." He'd forgotten to notice how attractive Ingrid was in his rage, especially this close. Her eyes looked intense in the moonlight, and she seemed to be trying to work something out about him. "Come on, at the least you need water before you collapse." Too tired to argue, Adam let her lead him into the castle. "Nice place to live if you're a serial killer, nobody would hear me scream." Candles seemed to light themselves, the room filling with a flickering glow as he collapsed in the nearest seat.

"A throne?" "That's my dads, he's like that." Ingrid handed him a strangely patterned mug in varying shades of brown and black, but a cursory sip said it was simply water and he drank it down happily. "Thank you." Ingrid's eyes were tracing over his bruised skin, more obvious in the candlelight than it had been out in the dark. "I've seen some strange things in my life, but I've never seen anyone do this to themselves, even if they use another person to do it." Still feeling anger simmer under his skin from everything piling on top of him, Adam snapped back. "Well just ask the guy who bites my shoulder when he fucks me, I can't get it up until it hurts. Or the girl who tears my skin open, she can hardly walk the next day." Surprise and a hint of completely inappropriate arousal buzzed through him when Ingrid pinned him to the wall, her pale arm across his pale throat as she growled in anger right back. "You can only fall so far before you can't get back up. Remember that." Struggling to breathe around the pressure on his throat, Adam felt a new pressure lower down.

"Seriously?" Barely able to push the words out, he rasped "I told you, it has to hurt." Ingrid moved back then, letting him gulp in lungfuls of air. "I'm already falling, what do you care if I can't climb back out of the dark?" "I don't." "Come on, even you didn't think that was convincing." Wondering if he'd have a heavy bruise bloom over his pale throat from her blocking his airway, Adam stepped closer to Ingrid's dark gaze. Adrenaline was coursing through him, muting any fear he had about a girl who could physically overpower him when boys twice his size couldn't. Something in his face must have talked of how little he cared for his safety right now, Ingrid backing up to the long wooden table. "I asked you a question. Why do you care?" "I told you, I don't." They were sharing breaths now, eye to eye and face to face. "I don't believe you." "I don't remember asking what you believed Adam." "Oh you remember my name? I'm flattered Ingrid."

There were many things wrong with the way any thoughts of the people to previously mar his body fell away when the practically-a-stranger Ingrid bit at his lip, digging nails into the marks already there and her eyes watching him arch into it. "Wow, you really do want this." "You ah... thought I was lying?" He managed to pant out as she pressed hard against the bruise on his hipbone, the one still nearly blackened with the depth of it. "Fuck. Harder, please. Make it hurt." He knew he sounded pathetic but he didn't care, he needed more every time to make his mind go blank and Ingrid gave it to him, practically biting through his collarbone and clawing fresh trails in his sides. He shuddered into the touch, hips bucking even as tears sprang to his eyes. Part of him hated himself for wanting this, craving this. The other part was twisting a hand in Ingrid's hair, pulling her mouth to his and pressing her body along the table. Realising she couldn't say stop if he didn't let her breath, he pulled away for a moment.

"Do you want me to stop?" The silvery blue eyes were wide, a little bit of fear but the arousal in him was reflected back at him as she whispered "No." He was confused when she pushed at his shoulders, wriggling from under him. "I do not want splinters either, come on." Something in him knew he shouldn't, knew he should turn around and go home and deal with his problems properly. That was quickly swallowed up as Ingrid pushed him onto what he presumed was her bed, kissing him and carving new welts in his skin with nails and teeth. Wrestling for dominance he managed to get her under him, tugging at clothes and finding a strange comfort in her skin being as cool as his, opposite to Robin and Erin and their burning heat. Kicking his shoes off and pushing his shorts free, Ingrid let him pull her underwear away and clawed at his back harder when he pushed into her, arousal easing his way and his conscience as he poured frustration into kissing her, grunting as she tore at his skin. Enough time with Erin had taught him what to look for, Ingrid's quaking body a sign of climax and he let himself spill inside her, rolling off and panting next to her.

He could feel sticky blood coating his back, saliva drying on his chest and shoulder where she'd bitten him. There was a bruise he was going to struggle to cover up outside of his school uniform purpling along his collarbone, and there was what he thought was blood smeared over Ingrid's mouth. A quick swipe confirmed it was his, his lip sore and swollen and spotted with red. "I don't generally sleep with strange boys who turn up outside the castle at all hours." "Glad to hear it, I don't usually collapse outside peoples homes as a way to get laid." "Glad to hear it." Her watch beeped then, and Adam pushed his utterly wrung out body to look at the time. "Well, that's one way to pass a sleepless night." Ingrid seemed to have recovered from whatever spell he'd put her under, tossing his shorts at him and pulling her own clothes back on. Unsure where his shirt was, Adam stretched and groaned as it pulled at fresh and healing injuries. "Just saying, white t-shirt wasn't your best idea." He supposed he had to agree, he was probably going to have to bin the t-shirt when he got home. "I figure we can move to second names now. Adam Giles. You?" "Ingrid Count."

"Was letting me in your best idea?" "No, my best idea was being me. You might earn your way onto the list eventually." Already plotting something that this strange, dark girl might go further than simply injuring him, Adam tugged on his t-shirt and hissed as sweat stung new scratches. "At this rate you're going to scar." "Good, then the outside might match the inside. I need to get home." Unsure it was welcome but desperate for a last moment, Adam kissed Ingrid. She reciprocated for a moment, pushing against the deepest bruise she'd sucked into his skin and all but physically kicking him out. Already feeling half way to passing out, Adam ran home and just about managed to clamber up the pipe and through his window. Falling onto his bed, he searched through his phone. It was still an hour before he could realistically shower, but he couldn't fall asleep and risk being seen in this state. Not that he thought he would anyway, guilt and satisfaction gnawing at his insides. The white t-shirt was indeed already slightly bloody, and Adam locked his door before perusing his injuries in the mirror.

Ingrid had probably surpassed Robin and Erin combined, there were a few scratches he could already envision leaving scars across his skin. Muscles starting to shake with exhaustion again, Adam pulled on an old black jumper - it wouldn't show blood stains and he wouldn't miss it if he threw it away after. Scrubbing at the new injuries with antiseptic wipes, he gritted his teeth against the stinging sensation. Dumping the bloodied wipes in his bin and balling up some old sketches to cover it, he sighed and went back to counting the minutes. Water swirled pink when he finally got under the spray of the shower, the hot water washing away his long night and stinging his skin. There was one scratch on his lower back he had to put a dressing on, it bled a little whenever he moved too fast and he couldn't risk leaving blood stains on the sofa. Pulling on two thick t-shirts and his baggy hoodie, Adam smoothed concealer over his collarbone just in case before smudging it under his eyes.

"I really do look like hell." he mused to his reflection, pulling on comfortable pyjama bottoms and slippers and feeling like he could pass inspection for a Sunday morning as he went in search of coffee. Two mugs of strong caffeine later, his mum came down the stairs and looked surprised to see him there. "You're up early." "Paper round has me used to early mornings, some days I wake up as though I expect my alarm to go off. You working today?" His mum nodded. "It's an evening class though, so early dinner and I can spend time with you kids." Downing his third cup of coffee, Adam smiled. "Better not let George catch you with that on a Sunday!" Adam smiled, rinsing the cup and hiding it in the dishwasher. "Eggs mum?" He got a nod, making himself not get distracted by the twinges and stinging pain as he moved. Handing his mum a pile of scrambled eggs and popping toast out, he wolfed down the protein his body desperately needed. George appeared a little later, fumbling half-asleep for the breakfast biscuit things she'd become addicted to and falling onto the sofa.

He and his mum shared a look, mouthing "give her ten minutes" and waiting. Sure enough, it was about eight minutes later when George bounded up, demanding the first of many cups of hot chocolate and pulling out the movie choices she'd decided on for the day. Adam was glad his legs were left mostly injury free minus a couple of scrapes on his bike, he didn't want to associate the things he did to himself through other people with his baby sister. He'd do anything to keep the darkness growing in him away from her. Smiling at her laying across his lap like she'd done since she was little, Adam focused on the TV and tried to pay attention to the movie. Before he knew it, it was dinner time and his mum was leaving for work. Going through the motions of sending George for her bath, tidying up, making tomorrows lunch and tidying up again, brushing George's wild curls into behaving and making sure she had her uniform before she went to bed, Adam felt like the evening had sort of blinked away from him. Rising the next morning, he felt his whole body aching with the sheer abuse the weekend had heaped on him as he dressed, covered up, ate and walked to the school with the Branaghs and George. Telling Robin he'd catch him up, Adam hurried over to the headmistresses office. "Can I help you Mr Giles?" "It's anonymous to report someone not sending their children to school right?" Receiving a nod, Adam fought to stop smirking. "Up in Stokely Castle, Mr Count has a fifteen year old daughter not registered at school. She's got at least two years to go, surely?" "Thank you Mr Giles, I shall look into it." Giving himself a mental pat on the back for finding a way to get Ingrid to the school, Adam felt the dual sensation of guilt hit him as he took his seat between Erin and Robin. "Where were you Giles?" "With the headmistress sir." The teacher left him alone after that, and Adam wondered if what he'd just done was such a good idea.

-ASYD-

 **This chapter is not quite what I was aiming for, but I was in a pretty dark mood when I wrote it!**

 **Ah well, hope it doesn't scare everyone away!**


	16. Juggling Act

**Don't own the characters, just corrupt them.**

 **I'm not entirely sure where the last chapter came from, I think I'm having a down swing in my emotional health so expect that to be reflected in my writing? This story was always going to be dark anyway.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

A couple of days later, an exceptionally irate Ingrid Count was slamming a locker closed right by Adam, Robin and Erin's. There was a flock of boys, including the Branagh twins, surrounding her everywhere she went and the dark part of Adam rejoiced in watching them fall before her knowing he'd had her shaking beneath him only days before. He was still healing from that encounter, and there were faint pink lines of scar tissue beginning where she'd clawed at him. He was barely holding himself together, his grades were starting to slip slightly and he couldn't remember the last time he'd slept for more than three hours. Rugby practice drained what little energy he had, barely managing to remember to change in the cubicles so the other boys wouldn't see his ravaged torso. Joining chess club was not his idea of fun, though it was mostly to watch Chloe and George and walk them home afterwards as the Branagh twins weren't stuck hanging around and Robin didn't need trusting to keep an eye on the two.

Losing again to Jonno Van Helsing, Adam sighed and tipped his king over as Robin cheered "checkmate". He was playing against the chess computer, easily the best of all of them at this game. As the club wrapped up for the night, Adam walked the girls home with Robin. He nodded at Robin's questioning look, changing quickly and settling George and Chloe on their sofa with a documentary while he waited for his friend. "You kids have fun, me and Robin are gonna go dye our hair ok?" The girls nodded, already entranced by something about dinosaurs as Adam led Robin upstairs. He had to lie on his back as Robin took him, his bruised front far less obvious than his torn up back as he spilled between their bodies. They hurried to cover themselves in dye, using washing it off as a cover to shower quickly together and redressing. Robin took Chloe home afterwards, leaving Adam to make George dinner and to wave tiredly at his mum when she came home. Pushing himself through his homework, Adam was relieved to finally lie in bed and feel his sore body aching.

He'd never considered himself conventionally attractive, pale and skinny with a shock of messy hair. Nor had he had any interest in sex before moving to Stokely, which he knew was odd as he didn't even touch himself when nobody else was around. Even now it wasn't specifically arousal he was quenching, just a desire to lose himself somehow and the satisfying flares of pain. Yet Ingrid and Erin both had boys all over them and Adam had been with both girls, and Robin was attractive but did his best to make people leave him alone. Flicking through the apps on his phone and ignoring the way his tired eyes blurred the colours together, Adam found a text from a number he didn't recognise. "Was it you who reported me to the school?" Assuming it was Ingrid but not wanting to be too obvious, he replied with "Who is this and how did you get my number?" "You know damn well who and Erin gave it to me. I say gave, I took her phone and got it while she wasn't looking." "Well at least you're honest. Yes it was me, what can I say? I wanted to see you again." Saving the contact as 'Ingrid', Adam waited for a reply. "Why not just loiter around the castle at night? Seems to work, now I have to suffer the indignities of a school uniform because of you."

"Is that an invitation?" Adam wasn't even sure what he was doing, he was still sore from Robin and that should have been enough for him for one day. "Only if you want your eyes gouging out." "Sounds interesting, I'm game." It didn't take long for him to be scrambling down the drainpipe again in his jeans, jumping on his bicycle and heading up to the castle. Ingrid was waiting outside for him, a smirk that reached her eyes at his eagerness. They didn't even make it inside, Ingrid pushing him to lie on the dewy grass by the castle and tugging at his jeans while she plundered his mouth with her tongue. Her nails dug crescent moons into his chest, pulled healing scratches on his sides open and she swallowed his groans in their kiss. He pushed a hand between them, touching until she felt ready and letting her sink down on him. In spite of sharing his cooler skin temperature, it was a different kind of hot as they thrust together. They redressed shakily, Adam feeling his shirt stick to the oozing blood of his injuries as he stood up. "How long can you keep this up?" "Well, I'm a teenage boy so I think that helps." Ingrid merely raised an eyebrow at his sarcastic answer, not dignifying it by acknowledging it properly.

"You're almost at breaking point and you know it." "And you still haven't told me why you even care." Her silvery eyes filled with heat, anger and desire mixed with something he couldn't quite identify. Stretching, he could feel that lying on the hard ground so soon after Robin was not his best idea, and his jeans and jacket were damp and probably dirty. "Does it matter? In case it wasn't obvious I'm not generally interested in teenage boys and yet here we are." Shrugging, he guessed not. "If I had the energy I'd try to work it out, but I guess this is where I leave again." Ingrid nodded, pulling him into a bruising kiss and shoving him away. Looking at his watch, he figured it was pointless going back home and cycled around for an hour or so until his papers arrived to be delivered. He was shaking by the time he'd delivered them, and his mum took one look at him when he came home after 'falling off his bike' to explain the dirt on his skin and clothes before sending him to bed and saying he wasn't going to school today. Too tired to argue, Adam threw off his clothes and fell into bed.

The next thing he remembered was his mums horrified face, his bruised and still slightly bloodied chest on display. Kicking himself for not remembering pyjamas or locking his door, Adam hurried to cover up. "I got into a fight with one of the boys from the other schools rugby team, it's not as bad as it looks mum!" He managed to think fast, and she still looked concerned. "Honestly, it looks far worse than it feels which is why I didn't tell you. And I didn't want to disappoint you by getting into a fight. I'm sorry." Her face relaxed a little more then, concern settling in. "Oh son, you should have said. I didn't mean to be so hard on you." She left him to dress and Adam pulled on layers, padding downstairs in pyjamas and slippers and being presented with a stack of eggs and bacon. "You need protein to heal remember." Adam nodded, forcing his food down and feeling it sit heavy in his stomach as he joined his mum on the sofa with tea.

He'd slept half the day away, feeling more rested than he had in months and George said he looked a little more alive when she came barreling through the front door. "I only came back to check Adam's ok, I'm off to do homework with Chloe and it's a Friday so I'm sleeping over!" Chatting a mile a minute, George dropped her empty lunchbox in the kitchen and dashed upstairs, returning with her 'overnight' bag and dropping her uniform on the floor as she flew out the house. After George was gone Adam could feel his mums eyes on him and he fought the urge to snap at her for staring. His anger was starting to bubble under his skin constantly and he hated it. "Honestly mum, I'm fine, look." Pressing on a patch of bruising he knew didn't really hurt anymore, he smiled until she relaxed. "Alright, but if it starts to hurt let me know ok?" He took the painkillers and water she offered, pushing them to the side of his mouth and spitting them into his hand when she turned to make him more tea. Shoving them in his pocket, he took the tea with a smile and lay back on the sofa while his mum got ready for work. "Are you going to be alright by yourself?"

"I might be really adventurous and stay up past 9pm, but otherwise I'm not going further than the kitchen mum. Go, have fun. Join the class on their pub visit, make friends. Honestly, I can put myself to bed." The energy and anger was bubbling again and Adam just wanted her to leave before he snapped, forcing a smile onto his face until his mum kissed his forehead, running a gentle hand over his hair and leaving. Remembering he'd left his phone upstairs, Adam went to retrieve it. There was a message each from Erin and Ingrid, asking where he was today. Well Erin's message said that, Ingrid's said he must have fallen into hell and gotten lost. Robin would already know Adam was off sick when he met George to go to school, and presumably could have passed the information on to Erin as they sat near each other in class. Typing out a quick message saying he'd spent the day catching up on sleep - both of them knew he desperately needed it - to each of them, Adam stretched back out on the sofa shirtless, feeling too warm now his body was so used to running cold and sleepless.

Ingrid didn't answer immediately, not that Adam expected her to. Erin was faster, asking if he was alright now. Replying he was fine and half naked in his empty house, he found himself smirking when Erin asked if he needed a teddy bear again. "If you don't mind sneaking out of my bedroom window in the early hours, you're always welcome for a sleepover." Darkness was starting to fall as Erin knocked quietly at the back door - the Branaghs living room was front facing and Adam could hear the TV on in there. Her eyes roved over his marked skin as she came in, and they pretended it wasn't obvious why she was here as Adam handed her a drink and sat on the sofa flicking through the TV absentmindedly. As soon as Erin drained her cup and tossed it into the dishwasher (this wasn't their first time sneaking around), she climbed into his lap, kissing him and stealing the remote to turn off the TV before dragging him upstairs. She knew the route to his room backwards by heart, barely breaking their bodies apart long enough to lock his door and shed their clothes. She returned to straddling his lap, an unusually intimate position for them to employ as it made them rock together slower, gentler. Erin didn't miss his hiss of pain when her nails sunk into his back again, but as it was accompanied by a solid roll of his hips Adam expected she didn't really notice. They stayed like that after, Erin quaking in his arms and her warm breaths condensing on his skin. "Wow" was all she could manage as they finally separated, though it wasn't the last time they joined that night.

When Adam heard his mum come home they had to fall quiet, Erin snuggling contently into his arms and falling asleep. After the coolness of Ingrid's skin Erin felt burning hot to him, but as he remembered to set his "paper round" alarm Adam let the warmth and rhythmic breathing lull him to slumber. They kissed quietly but frantically as Adam snuck Erin out that morning, careful not to wake his mum as Erin waved and hurried home before dawn was fully broken. Still exhausted but somewhat lifted by the slower, sweeter night Erin had given him even as she bit and scratched at his skin, Adam smiled to himself as he cycled around dropping off papers and returned home feeling cheered. He even hummed a little as he climbed into the shower, checking his mum was nowhere around and hurrying back to his room. Looking at his towel-clad body in the mirror, he was as bruised as ever but his eyes looked a little brighter for once and he wondered if that was Erin, Ingrid, Robin, sleep or a combination of all four as he had the first proper nightmare free sleep last night. It wasn't just because of having Erin with him, he knew that as he pushed open the window to 'air out' the room. He'd had some kind of dream the last time they'd 'slept over' together, but he'd had a thoroughly exhaustive week especially when it came to his 'coping'.

Still feeling a little buoyed, his mum found Adam sipping at coffee in a clean kitchen, laundry on and dishwasher emptied. "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" Adam grinned, finding it easier this morning as he handed her her morning coffee. "I feel much better today, I thought I'd do something nice now I'm all better." Adam didn't feel 'all better' at all, but his mum wouldn't even begin to understand. Fiddling with his phone, he found a reply from Ingrid. "I didn't realise I'd worn you out so much." "You were hoping that was it weren't you?" He jumped in surprise when his mum quizzed him. "Who are you smiling about texting eh?" Scrambling for an answer that wasn't 'a girl I've met three times and slept with twice who goes to my school', he quickly answered with Erin. "She said her brother is doing well in therapy, I'm just happy for her."

The good mood couldn't last too long, but when Adam went over to the Branaghs to play video games with Robin, his friend seemed surprised and happy at how relaxed Adam was today. It was chilled, calm and just a normal day between two friends and Robin was smiling properly when Adam left later on. George informed him she was staying again that night and Adam wondered how long before the Branaghs offered to formally adopt his little sister, she spent nearly as much time there as she did at home. His mum was actually out seeing a friend when he got back according to the note on the counter next to what he presumed was his dinner. and Adam smiled to himself at his mum finally branching out on socialising. The dark mood started to creep over his skin again for whatever reason as he looked down at his food, and Adam was tempted to just throw it away. Shoving the garlic and herb pasta back in the fridge Adam threw himself across his bed, shivering at the cool temperature as he'd left his window open all day. He was about to lean up and close it when he shrieked in surprise. Closing his eyes and shaking his head to clear it, he saw Ingrid at his window.

"Do you moonlight as a burglar? I can't even do that quietly." Ingrid smirked as she clambered through, pulling the window closed behind her and stretching out across his bed like she owned the place. "Well you've seen my house, I came to see yours." Feeling a little confused, Adam just nodded blankly but managed to lock his door. "Wait, how do you even know where I live?" Ingrid simply winked at him, beckoning him to lie over her and kissing him. The soft brushes became rougher, exchanged breaths becoming heavy panting and Adam felt her tug his clothes clear. She traced over his bruised skin, his reading lamp the only light in his room. "Still playing with amateurs?" Groaning as Ingrid scratched fire down his stomach, Adam arched up into her. "I don't like to assume you'll turn up in my room at night." "True, I could get bored of you any day." Resigning himself to feeling thoroughly used and wrung out, Adam let Ingrid take him over and over. She smirked and clamped a hand over his mouth when his mum came home, not stopping in the slightest and he whimpered weakly as she drew him to the edge again.

Ingrid left before the night was half done, dressing and climbing out of his window leaving him shaking on his bed. Adam stared up at his ceiling, wondering just how he ended up using three different people this way and hiding it all from his family. Still trembling slightly, Adam pulled out the picture of his father from his mum. Tracing over the sketchy lines, Adam wondered what this man would think of who he was. He fell asleep holding it, which may not have been his best idea given that the face appeared as "Count Dracula" again, he woke up feeling more confused than he'd fell asleep. While Robin may be blissfully ignorant, Adam was still lost on why Ingrid and Erin seemed to have no issue with him obviously seeking out other... company. Buttoning his shirt over his storm cloud of skin one school day in November, he supposed it was inevitable really that something had to give, he could surely only juggle the tangle of his life for so long.

-ASYD-

 **I promise there were more reasons to this chapter than Adam getting laid... alot.**


	17. Off Kilter

**Don't own the recognisable stuff, the rest is probably mine.**

 **This is by far my most popular Young Dracula story, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, so thank you all!**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Between how frequently Ingrid showed up in his room unannounced at night, cool fingers muffling his sounds of pleasure as they rocked together, the now four times he'd crept out to Erin's house for most of the night -and still had no idea why she was home alone - and somehow maintaining his friendship with Robin, Adam was surprised when November was nearly over. Buttoning up his shirt, he realised he was going to have to cut back on excercise or up his food intake - the shirt that had barely fit him in September was now starting to hang a little loose on his shrinking frame. Checking there were no visible bruises as he fixed his tie and pulled on the awful jumper and blazer, Adam looked at the shadows under his eyes. Even without his constant nightmares, the amount of time he spent "otherwise engaged" was taking a toll on his already shaky sleep pattern. His grades weren't slipping much, but enough for Adam to know he was starting to fail in his "keeping it together" venture. He was now fairly certain he could apply makeup almost as well as Ingrid, the blending concealer masking the evidence of sleepless nights beneath his eyes flawlessly.

George knocked at his door then, Adam quickly stuffing the concealer in his blazer pocket and smiling at her. "Morning munchkin!" "Morning ghost features, aren't you cheery this morning? You haven't even had coffee yet." George didn't know Adam had downed three mugs of coffee only an hour before she and their mum had woken up - just before he'd jogged back home from Erin's after a hurried shower. "Well you know, good nights sleep and all that." Shrugging his backpack over the less injured of his shoulders - Erin had been especially rough with him last night - Adam followed George down, accepting tea and toast from his mum. He'd have gone for more coffee but he didn't want his hands to shake again, Robin had pointed it out the day before yesterday when Adam had been so full of coffee he couldn't sit still. Robin was fast losing patience with him, threatening to tell Adam's mum about the state he was in and sparking a rough fight. That had been the first time Adam 'topped', though he'd taken the time to ease the way for Robin with his fingers before taking him, rutting hips thrusting until Robin came biting into a pillow to deaden the screams.

When the Branaghs appeared at their door, Adam could see Robin was still walking a little... delicately. Remembering back when his body could barely take the rough treatment, Adam felt the bubble of guilt as he shrugged his backpack on. Taking the goodbye kiss and hug from his mum, Adam pushed up a bright smile as he watched George skip over to walk with Chloe. The Branagh twins walked behind the girls, Robin and Adam hanging back so nobody would notice Robin's stiffer gait. "Is this what it's like every time for you?" Shaking his head, Adam kept a wary eye on the twins. "At first it was probably worse, because there was no... warm up. But I prefer it that way. And now it's a lot easier." Robin eyed him closely, dark eyes watching Adam's stiff shoulders. "Did you prefer the other day?" "No, because it didn't hurt me." Robin flinched at the honesty, and Adam realised he was being a little blunt in public. "Yeah, I can see that. I don't know how you do this more than once, let alone more than once a week." Shrugging, Adam answered carefully. "It's what I wanted, it's what gets me going. You know that by now surely." Adam had been careful not to bruise Robin's skin, leaving his pale canvas blank when they were done.

"Yeah, guess I do." They'd reached the school gates by now, falling silent lest they were overheard. Erin and Ingrid were both later than them, Erin and many boys looking perturbed when Ingrid sat next to Adam rather than by herself like she usually did. Erin sat the other side of Robin, and this strange behaviour continued throughout the day. Adam just about managed to get Erin alone for a moment, asking if he could be honest with Robin. "I'm surprised it's taken you this long, hasn't he noticed?" Shaking his head, Adam felt the familiar aches in his bruised body. "Between being careful what he sees and probably a huge amount of luck, no. But it's your privacy too, which is why I'm here." Erin gave him permission to be upfront with Robin, barely finishing the conversation before Ingrid swanned past with her usual fan club of rabid boys. Adam didn't feel the compulsion to stare all day, he'd seen more than most of Ingrid in more ways than one. Robin caught up with them then, and by the time Adam bid both girls goodbye at the end of the day he was buzzing with nerves about talking to Robin.

His mum was just leaving for work as they got home, George predictably changing in minutes, tossing her empty lunchbox to Adam as she bolted out the door. Robin practically switched places with her, worn in jeans and a t-shirt Adam had got him for his birthday covering his milky skin as he let himself in. "Just us here?" Adam nodded, pointing Robin to the kitchen to get himself a drink and heading upstairs with his coffee. Thinking he had a few minutes as Robin brewed his tea strong, Adam shed his school clothes and perused his ever growing collection of baggy jumpers and jackets. "What the hell Adam? I didn't do that." Adam knew the patterning of faint scars Ingrid had left him with, the fresher scratches and bite marks from Erin around his shoulders from only the previous night. Pulling on pyjama bottoms as he couldn't find his comfy lounge pants, Adam turned to his friend. There were even more marks on his chest now, Ingrid's crescent moon nail marks and both girls sucking deep bruises wherever they could. "Who did this?" Having no such permission from Ingrid, Adam mentally apologised to Erin as she'd get the blame for most of this now. "Erin. That's what we were talking about earlier, I was asking if I could tell you."

"So you lied to me? How long has this been going on?" "Yes. I didn't have her permission to divulge what is her privacy too before now, and I didn't want to hurt your feelings when I thought it would only be once. That day I went out shopping with her, which was unexpected to say the least. Then again the following Monday, then again and again. Especially on Halloween night." Robin had barely waited for him to finish his words before he was pinning Adam to his wardrobe door, then throwing him to the ground. Robin had a right to be angry, so Adam quashed the urge to fight back and picked himself up. "Those aren't from Halloween, when was the last time?" "Last night. Or should I say, this morning, I got home at about 6am." Robin actually punched him then, a solid blow to his jaw that made Adam reel back. "Take it out on me all you like, don't blame Erin for this." If he'd been wearing a shirt, Adam expected Robin would have grabbed him by his collar. As he wasn't, Robin threw him against the nearest wall, the few inches height difference towering now. "So what, you take it off me then because she can't give it she mauls you instead?" "Basically. I told you I couldn't offer you a relationship, and you kept pushing anyway. I was up front with Erin about you before anything, and she doesn't care." Forcibly reminded of Ingrid when Robin held him up against the wall, Adam tried to fight the inappropriate feelings.

"Why are you telling me this? Since you're such a good liar." "Because I don't care about my body, I think that much is clear. I do care about you though, and it wasn't fair to... do that when you didn't know. So now you do." As Robin let him down, Adam moved to drink the coffee cooling on his desk. Grimacing as he swallowed the nearly full mug in one swig, Adam replaced the cup. "You disgust me. How can you use people this way and not even feel guilty?" Shrugging, Adam pulled on a shirt to mask his bruised skin. "I felt guilty about lying to you, but Erin knows the score. Now so do you. As for using people, I've never lied about what I can or can't offer you or anyone else." Mentally kicking himself, Adam hoped Robin wouldn't pick up on the multiple reference. He had to fight the sigh of relief when Robin completely missed it, returning to what was probably justified anger. "You said you didn't have time or energy for a relationship, yet you have time to screw around." "Because I don't sleep! By the Halloween disco, all the time I've spent with Erin has been when everyone else was asleep. And as for energy, you've seen how bad the caffeine habit is getting." Pushing past Robin, Adam headed down for more coffee, confident Robin would follow. Robin did follow, watching Adam make his coffee and pour water over Robin's teabag - he hadn't even put hot water in before he came upstairs and caught sight of Adam's skin.

Handing Robin his tea and hoping Robin didn't throw it back in his face, Adam sat down and sipped at his coffee. Robin threw himself into the opposite chair, watching him across the table before staring into his mug like it held all the answers. "I can't do this. I can't be someone you just use like I'm nothing." "That's not what this is. Do you think I like being this way? Pain and sex, well them and caffeine, it's all that keeps me sane right now and I hate myself for that. But it's all I've got. If you want... this to be over, that's your call. I just hope we didn't sacrifice our friendship along the way." Robin slurped his tea noisily, clearly rolling Adam's words in his head. "I need to think. But yes, we're still friends. I just need time to figure this all out before I hate you for it all." Adam thought the words should hurt him more, but then he thought he should care more about all the things Robin said. He just... didn't. Not that he was going to share that with his friend, taking the hug Robin offered before he left. "See you tomorrow then." "Yeah, see ya." Waiting a few minutes to see if George appeared, Adam checked on his phone before settling down with more coffee and homework.

"Busy?" Erin didn't write Hello's, she wrote that as a joke to their first proper conversation. Adam shot back with "homework" and had barely taken a mouthful of caffeine before he got a reply. "Me too, somebody distracted me last night." "Don't get cheeky, you invited me!" Smirking at his phone, Adam returned to his essay. "I should make you do my work as punishment." "If you want a study buddy, you know where I am." He wasn't expecting a serious answer to that, but Erin was still at his house twenty minutes later. "I hate Physics, why do I care how copper conducts electricity?" Showing her to the table and fetching them both drinks, Adam sat back down. "I don't know, in case you need to wire up an electric fence?" "Because that's a common hobby here in Stokely. Speaking of... hobbies, how did Robin take the revelation?" Sighing as he crossed out a line on his essay, Adam looked up into Erin's expressive eyes. "I think it would have gone better if he hadn't caught me changing, you were... enthusiastic last night. So he started defensive and angry and it went from there. He said he needs time to figure everything out, I owe him that at least." Erin couldn't help but giggle at his use of the word 'enthusiastic', but nodded solemnly.

"He'll come around. We can stop... this if it'll help?" "Do you want to stop?" "No, but I don't want to cause a rift between you and your friend." Reaching over for Erin's hand on instinct more than reason, Adam smiled. "You are my friend too, and Robin is upset at being lied to, and that I didn't consider it cheating. Plus I imagine an unhealthy amount of jealousy, he doesn't like sharing." Erin smiled back, the familiar flutter of her shy smile in his stomach returning. "Alright, enough with the relationship counselling until we're done with Physics." Letting Erin take her hand back, Adam nodded and focused on his work. "Bloody copper wires." Chuckling at Erin's grumbling, Adam pushed his completed essay aside. "Want some help?" Erin looked up at him, smile back in place. "No, I'm almost done." Given that was the answer he wanted, Adam stood up and went to drop off his and Erin's mugs. Seeing her finish the essay, Adam leaned over her and breathed slowly over her ear. Erin shuddered in his arms, barely closing her book before she turned and kissed him. "Time for therapy?" "Depends, are you busy?" Erin smacked his arm for the bad joke, dragging him upstairs and laughing when she realised he was in pyjamas already. "Couldn't find my lounge pants." The blonde girl smirked up at him then, tracing a hand over the front of his boxers. "They may or may not still be at my house." "Oh... really?" Adam managed to gasp out, shivering at the touch. "Mmm, you'll have to come get them later." Right now he'd agree to anything if she kept touching him.

Checking his watch as Erin stripped her own clothes away, Adam figured there were a couple of hours before his mum or George would come back and let Erin pull him into bed. He should feel guilty for already doing what had upset Robin, he knew that but couldn't find it in him to care as Erin pushed his boxers away, his shirt long lost in their fight for bare skin. Adam groaned as Erin bit down on his skin again, arching into the pain as they utilised the time to explore the others body. It was a strange contrast, Erin's wild passion at odds with the way they could take their time together, drawing things out and moving slow against the other. Her nails found his thighs then, and Adam let the pain and pleasure take him away. They barely made it out of the shower and back into clothes, hurrying to look like they were doing homework innocently as his mum and George appeared. Something in their eyes made Adam feel like they suspected something, but he couldn't see anything amiss with Erin and he'd checked his bruises were covered before they dressed. He was probably being paranoid, smiling when his mum handed he and Erin tea and a plate of 'bat biscuits' (Robin's favourite) and peered over at their progress. "Good to know someone other than me keeps ghost boy here on his homework!"

"George, we do different homework, how exactly do you keep me on mine?" Adam didn't even look up from his maths work, but he knew George and his mum were grinning. "Yeah, mines harder because I got the brains, you got the... I don't know. What did Adam get mum?" A hand ruffled his hair, and Adam would have blushed if he had the energy. "You both got the brains, the looks and the big hearts." George chose this moment to lean over and point out a mistake Erin had made, much to Adam's chagrin as he'd made the same mistake. "Damn child geniuses, how do Chloe and George stay in the same room without exploding with brainpower?" Erin was smiling as she said this, George sticking her tongue out and going to laze on the sofa and fiddle with her phone. "We're just that good." Their homework was soon finished, and Erin politely declined staying for dinner as she had to get home before Ryan was back from his 'appointment'. His mum offered to drive her home and Erin agreed, offering Adam a cheeky smirk when his mum turned to get the car keys.

Waving goodbye, Adam wasn't surprised when George leapt up as soon as the door closed. "Seriously, you aren't fooling anyone ghostly brother of mine." "What do you mean munchkin?" George was bounding around, more energetic than she had been five minutes ago. "You two trying to look innocent with your work. You forgot to leave mugs on the table - you always work with a drink." "I had too much coffee and Erin doesn't drink much tea, that's it." He knew George didn't believe him, but Adam kept his face straight and tidied his completed homework away. His mum reappeared, reiterating that Erin was "a lovely girl" and smiling as she made their dinner. Rolling his eyes, Adam helped set the table and forced himself not to smile at the thought of things Erin did that his mother wouldn't approve of. His back was still reddened and his chest still covered in bitemarks when he managed to escape to bed, leaving his window open a little in spite of the freezing weather. Checking his phone, Erin had sent a reminder about his lounge pants, and Adam was about to drag himself upright when his window creaked. "I'll come get them tomorrow" was all he had time to send before Ingrid was pulling his window closed and pinning him down.

Already missing his t-shirt, it wasn't long before they were both naked and Ingrid was swallowing his sounds of pleasure in their kiss. Normally out of his window as soon as she was dressed, Adam was confused when Ingrid demanded he set an alarm before locking his door and promptly stealing half of his bed. Doing as he was told, Adam let Ingrid arrange their bodies how she liked and lay in slight amazement as they spooned. "What's brought this on?" "Too tired to go home, shut up and sleep before I cut your tongue out." Supposing he had little choice, Adam let Ingrid steal most of the covers and drifted off into a confused sleep. Typically his nightmares didn't let up and Ingrid looked up at him in tired confusion when he woke up trembling. "Count Dracula again?" Shaking his head, Adam tried to stop his quaking limbs. Ingrid rubbed at her eyes sleepily, sitting up and rearranging them so she was sat leaning into his chest and pulled his arms to sit loosely around his waist. Their skin was sleep-warmed but otherwise cool, but this behaviour was so out of Ingrid's usual character that Adam had to pinch himself to check he wasn't still asleep. "Come on, you woke me up now talk."

Ingrid's voice was low but commanding, all but forcing Adam to answer. "There were vampires and slayers. The slayers wanted to kill Vlad, I see most of my dreams as Vlad. Vlad had to choose between life and death, biting the slayer girl or slaying the vampire. He tried to bite the slayer girl and I felt so sick I woke up. Who could kill a child like that?" Ingrid drew more out of him, more talk of his dreams and nightmares and Adam felt emotionally wrung out when his alarm finally chimed. "Sorry, I kind of went on a bit." Ingrid kissed him, turning in his arms and pressing their still bare skin together. It was over an hour before Ingrid needed to leave or risk being late for school (though he doubted that she'd mind), so Adam let his worries and anxiety fall away as Ingrid pressed against him harder, something slow and gentle stealing his breath away as their eyes and bodies connected. Ingrid whimpered against his neck gently when he rolled them over, slipping back inside her as they rocked together for what could have been seconds, hours or days. Adam wasn't sure he'd ever had sex without it hurting before, the only touches from Ingrid's hands were gentle caresses over the nape of his neck, the only break in eye contact blinking. If he weren't listening to every tiny sound she made, Adam may have missed Ingrid's breathy gasp as she came. Finally losing the battle not to spill inside her, Adam felt tears rise in his eyes as they clung to each other, both loathe to break the silence.

"Fuck. That was... something else." Adam finally managed to speak, moving to lay on his back and pulling Ingrid to lie across his chest. Her fingers traced over his bruised torso, picking out which marks she was responsible for and stroking over them gently. "It was, you didn't need any of this." The tears in his eyes fell then and Adam swiped at them gently. To her credit, Ingrid didn't push for him to explain why he was crying. His watch chimed the hour then, and Adam realised the world shattering encounter had not in fact stopped time. "I'm not sure I can stand to see you go, but real life is about to catch us up." Ingrid sat up next to him, irresistable as Adam stroked over her hair until it fell back down over her shoulders. "That's going to make me fall asleep, not wake up." Adam didn't want to lose this moment, where it felt like every barrier between them had dropped but it was rapidly disappearing as the sun threatened to rise. He followed Ingrid out of the bed, pulling on boxers, helping her dress and unable to resist pressing kisses to her skin. She stole his hairbrush, smirking in the reflection of his mirror as he watched her smooth out her hair closely. They kissed again, hard pushed not to give up and fall back into bed together as Adam hurried to pull on his paper round clothes. They crept out of his house quietly and Ingrid pinned him to the wall outside his front door, a hint of their usual roughness in this goodbye kiss before she was disappearing home in the last of the night. Sighing and rushing through his round, Adam still felt off kilter as he fell into his kitchen searching desperately for caffeine and checking for the message telling him Ingrid was home safe.

Smiling in relief as he saw her message, Adam downed his coffee while it was still hot enough to burn, making another to take upstairs to his room so he could get ready for school. He stood looking at his bed for a moment, unsure about the mix of frantic, meaningless fucks and the heady, emotional... encounters that had taken place here. Pushing his window open to let the cold air keep him alert, Adam forewent his usual shower in favour of having more time for coffee as he climbed into his uniform and drained the second mug. Heading downstairs for more, George and his mum found him staring into his empty mug and poked him. "Rough night ghost features?" "You could say that munchkin, if I ever meet Count Dracula I'll be having words with him about his lifestyle." The dreams had only been a small part of the night, and Adam was lost. As he packed his lunch and spooned porridge into his mouth, Adam realised he'd now have to see Robin. And Erin. And Ingrid. All in one place while his head was a sea of feelings. Brushing his teeth again, he grimaced at the flavour of orange juice and made sure he'd packed all his school books away. "Bye mum!" "Bye kids, have a good day!" Robin's dark eyes were on him almost as soon as he left the house, getting an extra hug from George because he looked so tired before she bounded off to walk with Chloe. Stealing a look up at the castle while Robin was tying his shoe, Adam felt a pang in his chest he didn't understand.

-ASYD-

 **This took so long to write, and I hate most of it. It's not quite a filler chapter, but it's part of leading on to a bigger chunk of storyline. So... enjoy?**


	18. Insomnia

**Don't own the characters.**

 **Spent the day watching Young Dracula, now for more Adam!Vlad. This AU stuff is kind of addictive...**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Scribbling down 1st December on his school work, Adam realised it had been over six months since they'd first moved to Stokely. His mum and George were doing well, all but completely back to their old selves. Adam barely recognised himself in the mirror as he dyed his hair again, though his face hadn't changed all that much, the person inside was nothing like the boy who had lost his step-father less than a year ago. Michael would probably be ashamed of him, but then so would his mum and George if they had any idea who Adam was turning in to. Combing his now-dry hair and pulling on a t-shirt, Adam sat on his window ledge that night looking up at the castle. He dreamt about it some nights, sometimes he felt a compulsion to go up there but he didn't want Ingrid thinking he was some kind of stalker.

Starting to shiver from the cold in the thin cotton t-shirt and shorts he had on, Adam slid down and lay on his bed. He'd been at Erin's the previous night to collect his forgotten clothes, though he'd stayed much longer than that really needed. Robin had come over to do homework together on the afternoon, their conversation a little stilted but Adam appreciated the effort. As midnight ticked in, he gave up on waiting for Ingrid and rolled over to sleep. He woke up all of three hours later shaking, the slayer vs vampire dream returning and continuing, telling him he had the power deep inside to be brilliant and strong. Tears rolling down his face as he trembled, Adam didn't feel either of those things. Giving up on sleep for the night Adam sat up and picked up a school book, figuring he could at least use the time he didn't sleep for something other than doing everything he could to become a body, a conductor for pain and sex and caffeine rather than a person.

The emotional night with Ingrid still stuck in his mind, though there had been zero change in the way she treated him at school and she hadn't been back since. Adam hadn't pushed, if that night had been anywhere near as soul-deep for her as it was for him she was probably trying to process it all too. Realising he wasn't even looking at the book, Adam pushed his tired eyes to read through his Biology textbook. His paper round alarm sounded and Adam dressed, pulling on the cycling gloves his mum insisted he wear for doing this in early winter mornings, drowning his exhaustion in coffee and doing his round. Downing more coffee to get him through the day, Adam waited until the following evening to bring up the fact they'd moved over six months ago now. His mum looked surprised, calculating in her head before smiling.

"You're right, it seems like much longer and no time at all doesn't it?" George decided the occasion needed cake, so the evening was spent baking and watching George get icing absolutely everywhere. The cake went into the fridge to set for the next night, and it was every bit as sickly and sweet as Adam expected given that George was involved in making it. He wholeheartedly regretted eating it later on, one of the more violent dreams having him bent over the toilet again until Adam felt like he'd faint. Wiping his tear-stained face down and brushing his teeth, Adam stared at the mirror. Blinking in surprise, Adam could have sworn the reflection... moved. Shaking his head and staring more, he decided it must have been a trick of the dim light. Crawling back to bed, Adam stripped off, feeling sweaty and still shaky. "You must have known I was coming." Jumping at the sound, Adam looked to see Ingrid stood over his bed. "I never know when you'll turn up, you don't call, you don't write." Ingrid smirked at him, shedding her own clothes and laying next to him in her underwear. Her cool skin felt heavenly against his own flushed self and Adam clung to her a little tighter, tears falling against his will.

"Bad dreams again?" Adam nodded, though it may have been indistinguishable from his shaking. "They told Vlad, or me, I'm not sure anymore, that there's a power inside to make me brilliant and strong. Then there was a war, people bleeding and dying and vampires being slain. I don't feel brilliant and strong. I'm scared of what could be inside me sometimes." "I know what you mean." Ingrid's words confused him, wondering if she had dreams like him. "How do you mean?" Ingrid shook her head, cool fingers tracing over his still sweaty skin. "It's hard to explain. Maybe I'll be able to tell you some day." Wanting to know but knowing better than to push Ingrid, Adam let her kiss him softly and they stayed that way for a while, gentle touches over each others bare skin, pale and glowing in the moonlight through his open curtains. She fell asleep on him like that and he pulled the covers over them, unable to sleep and content to listen to her soft breathing in the dark. It was physically painful to wake her, losing the touch of her body on his before they were caught. Ingrid actually stole one of his t-shirts, pulling it on over her own as she dressed. "It's cold out" was all the reasoning she gave as she pulled on her coat, something deep blue and satin-like against his skin as he kissed her goodbye, enjoying the way she melted into it a little more this time.

Pulling on his own pyjamas, Adam let her out through the back door and sat outside with coffee looking up as night started fading into daylight. George found him like that, sleepy and confused by him reclining on the bench. "Adam, it's 7am, what are you doing ghost face?" Heading in so they wouldn't be shouting across the garden, Adam set George up with breakfast as he answered. "I couldn't sleep, and it's not a school day so I went to look at the sky for a bit." George hugged him around the middle, telling him he was an idiot but that she loved her big brother. It was a little out of the blue but George was like that, so he returned her hug and told her he loved her too. Their mum came down then, smiling fondly at her pyjama-clad children and taking the coffee Adam handed her gratefully. He didn't have the energy to feel angry at nothing today, dressing casually and doing homework with George quietly for most of the day. They sat down for yet another Harry Potter movie after dinner, hot chocolate and George's new love for huge marshmallows in full swing as their mum came home and thanked Adam for making her food. He finally felt a proper smile as George looked up at him with whipped cream all over her face, saying it made her as pale as him and giggling happily.

He helped her sort her hair out and tucked her into bed, looking over the walls it felt like years ago they'd painted. "Me and Chloe translated the hieroglyphs the other day, did you mean to make words?" Adam shook his head. "No, I just sort of sprayed black into the stencils randomly and hoped for the best. What do they say?" George pointed to the first wall he'd done, using her phone as a light to highlight the picture alphabet. "Some of it is nonsense, but that line there where they almost run straight says vampire. Subconscious message?" Shrugging, Adam looked at the other walls. "Is there any other secret words I did by accident? Plus, you did one of them." George nodded, pointing out where she'd spelled their names out on 'her' wall. "That one has destiny written in it, and we think the word is Latin but you also managed to spell out something like Dimidius. It's sort of jumbled in a lot with the other letters, but we translated them all." "And what's a dimidius when it's at home?" George sat up, rummaging through her bedside table. "Dimidius - it means half, or half broken depending on the translation. Something you want to tell me big brother?" Looking at George's scrawl of translations and definitions, Adam shrugged. "No idea, I'd never even heard the word before and I just did the walls how I thought would look cool. Like you said, most of it is nonsense. Must be coincidence." George eyed him strangely, but then their mum appeared to tell George she should be going to sleep and Adam left her to it.

Scribbling down what George had told him, Adam looked up 'dimidius' on his phone after he'd climbed into bed. A lot of what he found was just differing translations between "half" and "half broken" with no real reason why they differed. He was about to give up when something had the word 'vampire' in it, and Adam figured one more result wouldn't hurt. He regretted it when he found an old story about a half-vampire who would lead all other vampires into a huge, glorious war. Closing the page and all but slamming his phone to the floor to charge, Adam curled up into a ball and shook his head. It was nonsense, a coincidence. He had never even heard of the word dimidius before. And he was definitely not a vampire, regardless of the dreams where the sketch of his father became "Count Dracula" and where he was told he would be strong, a leader. Adam didn't even like picking sports teams out, he was never going to lead 'an army'. And he didn't need to justify any of it, because Adam knew it was all nonsense. He didn't sleep at all that night, the words flashing before his eyes until his alarm pinged to get him going on his paper round. He didn't sleep the next night either, or the night after that.

A week later, Ingrid seemed to be growing bolder, actually pulling him into an empty classroom at lunch and locking the door. It was hurried and frantic and Adam was thankful for the multiple layers of their school uniforms for once, as he found spots of blood on his school shirt when he got home from where Ingrid had 'roughed him up'. He didn't get chance to shower before Robin came to ask him over to play video games, and time got away from him as night fell. Making a mental note to tell his mum he needed new shirts as the old ones no longer fit him, Adam was about to drop into bed when Erin buzzed his phone. Desperate to lose himself all over again, Adam went. He actually managed to sleep a couple of hours afterwards, and Erin didn't bring up the question of who marked up his body. Waking to hurry out and do his paper round, Adam could barely stop shivering long enough to make his coffee. The lack of sleep meant his body could no longer keep itself warm properly, the weight loss costing him some of his natural insulation though he'd never had much body fat to begin with - no matter what he ate.

Pulling on the thermal underlayers he'd had to buy to stop him turning blue throughout the winter months by now, Adam didn't feel warm as he drank his coffee but he no longer felt like he'd shiver himself silly. George threw a blanket over him when she saw him bundled up on the sofa claiming a cold, and Adam practically purred as he pulled it tighter around himself. Mrs Branagh naturally agreed to take George for the day, sending Robin around to keep Adam company. Robin took one look at the state of Adam and climbed in with him, the burning body heat finally letting Adam relax. "This doesn't change what I said." Robin managed to speak as Adam clung to the warmth. "I know, but I am freezing right now so thank you." "You aren't actually ill, like I'm not going to catch anything?" Adam shook his head, feeling his body stop shivering at last. "No, I haven't slept more than an hour or two a night for weeks and I don't think I have the energy to keep myself warm anymore." They separated as soon as Adam stopped shivering, but he felt a little less frozen by then and ignored the loss of Robin's body against his. He'd told Robin he could call... things off any time, he had no right to take that back. Sipping at hot chocolate when he dared venture from the warm nest of the sofa, Adam was actually desperate to go to bed that night, just because it would be warm and he might even fall asleep, dreams be damned.

-ASYD-

 **Things be moving on, there isn't a huuuuge amount of this story left to go. Though I'm already planning a sequel... I'm terrible.**


	19. Christmas Countdown

**Don't own the characters.**

 **Hmm, I should probably work on something other than this... Oh well. Some things will start to tie together soon. Probably a longer than usual chapter.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

The hot shower was amazing, warming the bone deep chill Adam felt and he crawled into bed in pyjamas and a jumper, wrapping his quilt tight around himself. His mum popped her head in to bring him cold medicine, which Adam pulled his usual trick of pushing to the side of his mouth and spitting them into his hand to throw away when his mum left him with a kiss on the forehead. Tossing the pills into the bin by his bedside, Adam stretched out on his bed and relished the fact he didn't feel cold for once that day. Remembering to push his window open slightly, Adam figured Ingrid would wake him if she turned up and rolled over to sleep. Predictably, it was never so easy to fall asleep unless a particularly bad dream would follow. Bolting upright as he woke from a dream undoubtedly inspired by that cursed 'dimidius' story, Adam felt eyes on him. "How long have you been here?" Ingrid was watching him closely, and Adam stripped off his jumper, feeling sweaty and shaky. "Not long, I was going to wake you but you were... active, I was worried I'd get hit in the face and I figured you'd wake up soon enough." Nodding, Adam sipped at the water bottle Ingrid handed him from his desk. "Thanks. You just going to watch me sleep or are you getting in?" The soft whispers they spoke in were second nature now, not wanting to alert anyone to the frequent visitors he had in his room.

Ingrid nodded, carefully removing her clothes to reveal the t-shirt she'd stolen from him as Adam moved to make space for her. Though his bed was a double now, after his old bed had started to break (Adam expected his... activities had pushed it along but he hadn't complained about the new one) last week, Adam was still in the habit of sleeping on one side of it and tonight would be the first time Ingrid had even gotten in it. In spite of the larger amount of room now, Ingrid lay next to him expectantly and Adam curled around her. This had been necessary when his bed was smaller, but it was basically instinct to hold onto Ingrid like this now. Used to the feeling of her skin beneath his hands, Adam let one hand trail under the t-shirt and stroke over the curve of her hip, enjoying the way she shivered beneath the touch. "So what was it tonight?" "A story I made the mistake of reading, some half vampire hybrid who was born to lead the vampire race against the humans and take over. It was... horrible." Clutching at Ingrid a little tighter, Adam hoped she didn't think he was pathetic for it. "You still haven't answered me yet." Ingrid rolled over then, looking up at him as Adam leaned up on one arm to look down at her and reach for her hand. "Answered what?" Feeling her lace her fingers through his, Adam locked eyes with her. Even in nothing but moonlight, her eyes were silvery pools of blue that made his heart skip. "Why you care. I mean, I'm not complaining a beautiful girl turns up in my room at night but you've known me what, a month and a half or so. And nobody else seems to see this side of you."

Ingrid blinked then, breaking the eye contact. "You feel it though, don't you?" Adam nodded, remembering the night he knew she meant. "Like everything fell away and we'd known each other forever." "I'm so glad you didn't go hopelessly sentimental and say love." Adam shook his head then. "Love would imply we actually knew each other. And aside from whispered conversations at night where you listen to me talk about weird dreams, we don't." They both shed their t-shirts then, skin on skin as Ingrid lay her head over his chest and tapped her fingers in time with his heartbeat. Staring up at his glow in the dark ceiling, Adam trailed his hands down Ingrid's back, impeded by the clasp of her bra. He was about to skip over it when Ingrid moved, looking up at him with an intensity that made him feel like his heart stuttered. Trembling hands pushed their clothes aside as Adam moved to blanket Ingrid's body with his own, something deep inside him feeling a connection other than the physical one as they joined. He knew Ingrid could feel his tears where his face was buried in her neck as he rocked his hips in time with hers, and he felt hers after when they embraced tightly. "I don't know what this is, or why I can't fight it and I'm scared." Adam knew what she meant, with Ingrid he felt old beyond their years of 14 and 15, they were barely out of childhood and there was something deep and intense between them whenever they let it out. He still gave himself up to Erin whenever the opportunity arose, powerless against the desire to lose himself in any way he could when Erin's skin burned against his own.

They shelved the emotional overload for a few hours, falling asleep with Ingrid curled against his chest and blissfully not having another nightmare. Still exhausted but feeling the almost permanent haze lift a little, Adam hunted out the stash of spare toothbrushes to hand to Ingrid, brushing his own teeth and pulling her back to his room to kiss her again. Ingrid had to climb out of his window this time, his mum knocking on his door to check he felt well enough to do his paper round this morning. "Yeah, I feel much better after a good sleep mum. New bed is doing wonders for me." He got a still-tired smile from his barely awake mother, hurrying past her to head out on his round. Ingrid was waiting under the cover of darkness, pressing him into the wall and kissing him hard before she left for her own home. Shaking his head to clear the fog Ingrid generally put his brain under, Adam mounted his bike and pushed through his rounds.

* * *

As December melted away, the ridiculous amount of baking and food generally associated with Christmas had Adam filling out a little, though it was still bitingly cold when he was on the rugby pitch tackling other boys to the icy ground. His cheeks were tinged pink with the chill when he caught both Ingrid and Erin in the stands at their last game of the year before they broke up for the Christmas holidays, and it hid the fact his face flushed under the dual intense looks as their team won. Adam had to pretend to be nursing a sore ankle from a rough tackle to wait for the other boys to shower and leave, desperate for the hot water but not willing to show off his marked and scarred skin. As the last of the team left, slapping him on the shoulder for his winning goal Adam staggered up and shed his clothes. He was just thawing out beneath the spray when the door creaked, though Adam felt less worried behind the cover of the shower cubicle. The sound of the curtain being pushed aside panicked him slightly, though he mostly relaxed at the sight of Erin. "You do know this is the boys changing room right?" Erin nodded, winking cheekily as she tossed her clothes next to his and joined him. Feeling mildly worried about being caught, Adam still pushed Erin up against the tiled wall and felt her legs wrap around his waist. Erin bit down on his shoulder again as one of the other team members came in, muffling her sounds as the intruder called out "Oi Giles, you'll turn into a pale prune if you stay in there much longer!" "Yeah, but it's so damn cold it'll be worth it Jones!" Adam managed to call back, hoping his voice didn't waver as the other boy left. Erin rinsed off beneath the rapidly cooling shower with him, stealing the towel he usually used to dry his hair. She was about to disappear when Adam stopped her, remembering to hand her the gift he'd gotten her for Christmas. "Between all the family stuff, I wasn't sure I'd see you before Christmas." Erin handed him a wrapped gift too, grinning and saying "great minds think alike" before she disappeared towards the school - a safer bet to not be caught.

George and Chloe were waiting for him outside, bundled up against the cold weather and laughing at Adam wearing his beanie hat - George liked to tell him he looked like a garden gnome in it but it kept his ears warm so he took the insults in stride. "Not bad ghost boy, come on! The others already left for the Branagh Christmas holiday." Remembering how the girls had managed to convince both families to let Chloe stay with them instead as she didn't get on with any of the cousins where they'd be going, Adam walked the girls home feeling slightly guilty for hanging around so late because of Erin and leaving them outside. Chloe's things were already in their house, hurriedly taken up to George's room and Adam helped his mum set up the airbed - the girls had already decided between themselves to trade off for the four nights Chloe was staying with them. After that the Branaghs would be back and Adam would be by himself from Christmas Eve to the day after Boxing Day. That had been a sticking point for the Giles family, but Adam refused to partake in the visit to their grandparents. "You know we'll only end up fighting, we can do our family thing when you come back - the art centre classes don't start back up til after New Year and the Branaghs are right next door, I'm capable of taking care of myself for a few nights." Fourteen and a half years on, his grandmother was not yet over his mothers refusal to give Adam up for adoption, but George adored her grandfather and Adam refused to come between them going and told them to go without him.

This meant his mum spent almost the entire time Chloe was staying with them cooking an obscene amount of food, as though Adam would waste away without a stockpile that would feed five people for a week. They traded a gift each before they left, George thrilled with the necklace spelling her name in hieroglyphics (he'd gotten Chloe one like it too, sent with her to the Branaghs when she went home) and his mum hugging him tearily for the set of photos he'd gotten framed from their first summer holiday without Michael. His favourite was one of both George and their mum at the top of a rock-climbing wall, smiling and waving down at him as though they didn't have a care in the world and it had warmed him to see them both relax so much after everything. There were also a few of him and George at the beach, him looking even more ridiculously pale next to his sisters tan but they both looked happy and carefree. Adam didn't really equate who he was with that boy in the photo anymore, but the memories were still happy ones for them all. The Branaghs had sent over gifts too, simple things like pyjamas and books. They'd sent back rugby tops for the twins and Adam had convinced his mum to buy Robin a creepy-looking doll that came in a coffin shaped carry case, a huge pile of home-made biscuits and little angel sculptures (Mrs Branagh was mad about collecting them so his mum had made some) and a new book on psychology for Chloe (George's recommendation). Adam had also gotten a couple of the pictures from taking the girls to the park a few times done in frames, sweet childhood memories frozen in time.

His mum presented Adam with a large, quite thin rectangular box. George helped him remove the ridiculous amount of wrapping paper to find a new bike still boxed up. "You're getting a bit big for your old one, and you can take the time to put it together while we're away." George's gift was on the same lines of Adam's fitness interests, new running gear for the upcoming Spring season (though Adam was certain his mum had picked them and wrote George's name on, but still). "We'll do this properly when we come back. Are you sure we can't convince you to come with us?" Adam shook his head, letting his mum clutch him tightly. "Yes mum, you can call me anytime but I am a teenage boy, don't be surprised if I sleep in. Yes, I will go next door to Mrs Branagh if I need anything." George was harder to pry away than their mother, clutching Adam around his chest (she was getting taller) and saying she hoped it didn't snow while they were gone, because they'd never find him again. After yet more hugs and promises of staying in contact, Adam was alone.

Tidying up the mess from the gifts, Adam set about putting the new bike together. His old one would go back into storage, he'd kept it in good condition and at this rate George's lanky frame (she'd inherited it from Michael, Adam had no doubt she'd end up taller than him) would be fitting it soon. Dropping Robin a text to tell Mrs Branagh Adam was out testing out his new bike so she wouldn't worry frantically when he didn't answer her shouting over the fence (again), he set off cycling. It was a little stiff as the mechanisms got used to moving, but it took the hills of Stokely roads with ease and Adam was thrilled with the new set of wheels. Night was beginning to fall as Adam climbed into the shower, utilising the empty house to only wear pyjama bottoms when he got out. Settling down on the sofa with tea as he didn't need to be full of caffeine to maintain his pretense of alertness, Adam stretched out and flicked through cheesy Christmas TV, eyeing his phone. It was nearing midnight before he got the text he was waiting for, carefully pulling the front door open to see Ingrid standing there. Her eyes took in his bare torso with obvious interest, picking out the marks she'd left against Erin's. They didn't talk about how it was obvious Adam was 'seeing' at least one other person, though Adam knew it would have to be addressed eventually.

Making sure to lock up, Adam smiled at Ingrid. "Merry Christmas." "Strange British customs, we never celebrated it back home. Merry Christmas you creep." Used to Ingrid's cutting words, he could hear the softer edge she only used talking to him alone, never when they were at school and even then it wasn't a constant thing depending on her mood. Having already had it nearby as he was all but certain Ingrid would come over tonight, Adam held out the gift. She looked at it strangely before taking it and Adam bounced nervously. Ingrid held up the chain, an empty pendant on it and looked at him in confusion. "Look closer, there's more to it." Ingrid looked again, pulling out the bag. "They are basically magnets, you can keep the same chain on and change the pendant by switching the magnet." Pulling out one of the little magnets with a red silhouette of a bat on, Adam clicked it into place. "After how many times I've seen you in that bat skirt, or taken it off you at least, I figured creepy halloween style was your thing." The others were things like skeletons, a castle and graveyards. Ingrid was still looking at the strange magnetic circles in confusion, but soon caught on and switched them around a few times. "That's actually very clever, thank you Adam." Feeling relieved Ingrid liked it, Adam returned to his position laying on the sofa and smiled when she shrugged off her shoes and coat to join him. "No worries about being caught in the morning, best Christmas gift ever".

"Then why are we wasting time with this mindless drivel?" Adam couldn't help chuckling at Ingrid's description of... actually he had no idea what was on TV anymore. "By all means, lead the way." Ingrid jumped up, smart enough to put her shoes and coat out of the middle of the living room while Adam turned off the TV and they headed upstairs. Distracted by the gift giving and the feel of her body on his, Adam had only just noticed what Ingrid was actually wearing. "Is there any reason why you're wearing a ribbon rather than that belt with a bat on?" Ingrid pressed him into his bed smirking, kissing him breathless for a moment before answering. "What better gift could you get than me?" Returning the heat-filled expression, Adam went about 'unwrapping' his gift and took the time to trace his fingers over Ingrid's pale curves as her skin was revealed. "It's no wonder the boys at school can't resist you, and they've only seen your face." Ingrid arched beneath him, reaching down to tug his pyjama bottoms away and pulled him closer to her. The first time was rough and hurried, Ingrid marking his milky skin as they shuddered in pleasure together. The urgency tended to, they kissed and touched for what felt like hours and the second time was a repeat of the other times Adam felt like his soul was singing, the gentle scratch of Ingrid's nails over the nape of his neck where she held him close to her tingling down his spine as they moved slowly together.

Ingrid was still shaking slightly as they got up to shower off quickly, brushing teeth and tangling together tiredly. Pressing a kiss to her shoulder, Adam fought the urge to fall asleep just yet, listening to Ingrid's breathing even out as she drifted to sleep in his arms. The rhythmic sounds lulled him to slumber, and the terrible dreams ripped him back to waking. Embraced as they were, there was no way Ingrid wouldn't wake when Adam did, shaking and sweating and angry with his mind for not even giving him this night off. Ingrid looked at him for a moment, somehow reading in his face that he didn't want to talk about it now and kissing him. Taking the comfort Ingrid offered as she pulled their bodies close again, Adam was surprised when Ingrid rearranged them differently afterwards, spooning up behind him and the feel of her heartbeat against his back was more soothing than he'd expected. Lacing his fingers with hers where her arm was wrapped around his waist Adam managed to fall asleep again, and while his dreams were still... vampy they didn't wake him again. It was still dark outside when he did wake, but Ingrid stirred soon after his eyes opened and Adam let a measure of happiness that she didn't have to leave immediately roll through him.

After they took turns in the bathroom and cleaned up for the morning, Ingrid stole pyjamas and a hoodie from Adam and they padded down to the kitchen together. Adam couldn't help smiling at the sight of Ingrid still sleep-soft and wearing his clothes, not even deterred when she threatened to stick spoons into his eyes for staring. Rather than have to keep coming back down, Adam made up a flask of tea and Ingrid raided his fridge. "Did you invite more than just me over? This is ridiculous." Looking at the piles of christmas cookies and cakes, Adam laughed. "No, my mum wanted to make sure I wouldn't starve while she was gone. Nobody else knows you're here remember." They returned to his bed, flicking on his rarely-used TV for background noise and working their way through tea and biscuits. Keeping a wary ear out for his phone as he expected his mum to call, Adam heard it buzz and picked it up. It wasn't his mum, rather a picture from Erin of her wearing his gift - a necklace with a white rose as a pendant. Hurriedly answering with "hope you like it" Adam tossed his phone aside again. "So, are we talking about your dream?" Sighing into his mug, Adam drank some tea and braced himself.

"This is going to sound odd, or at the very least conceited. This old guy kept turning up in that forest I was in before, with the slayers. He kept pointing at me and I kept running. We ended up in this old castle and he made me fight him. When I managed to knock him down, he told me I was chosen. He wouldn't tell me what for, but either way me, or Vlad - it's blurring together now, stepped into the sunlight, refusing what he offered and it hurt like hell. That was when I woke up." Ingrid peered at him over her mug, thinking on what he said. "Did he say chosen, or chosen one?" "Yeah, that was it. He called me the chosen one, why?" "Because you were mumbling 'I don't want to be the chosen one' before you woke up." "Oh, sorry for waking you." Ingrid smiled softly at him, pointing out he didn't exactly want the dreams. Clearing the 'breakfast' stash off his bed, Adam was about to return to wrapping his body around Ingrid's when his phone rung. Pressing a finger to his lips as a 'keep quiet' gesture, Adam answered. "Merry Christmas Adam!" was shouted down the phone and Adam had to hold it away before answering back "Merry Christmas guys. Yes, I am still alive, I haven't wasted away or burned the house down!" He chatted amicably with his mum and George for ten minutes or so, mostly George complaining he wasn't here to appreciate how 'awesome' her new skateboard was. Adam was confused, George never showed interest back when he was into skateboarding once and he'd given it up after one too many tumbles.

"I've been meaning to ask, why is your sister called George?" Ingrid quizzed when he got off the phone after assuring his mother he hadn't spontaneously evaporated from being left alone overnight. "She's called Georgina, but she hates it, always has done. She's called herself George since she could talk and it stuck." This small question sparked their first actual 'getting to know' conversation, somewhat backwards considering the amount of times they'd shared a bed, or desk, or patch of grass outside the castle. They talked about childhood, sharing the experience of not knowing a parent well though for very different reasons - a fairly anonymous encounter versus her mother leaving her father for another man. Adam learned that while black was 'Ingrid's colour', her favourite colour was actually purple, and Ingrid learned that Adam's was blue but that it went best with black. "So really, what you're saying is the way I wear the school uniform is a dream come true for you?" Adam nodded, pointing out she had the silvery blue eyes to match. "Plus, you're a dream come true anyway. Not my usual dreams obviously, good dreams come true." Ingrid said she had a half brother she'd only met once, her mothers baby with her new boyfriend. Adam admitted he was scared of crows and ravens. "Why?" "I feel like they are watching me, and as they are supposed to be omens of death it's kind of unnerving after a while."

They talked for hours, various seasonal movies flickering across his TV screen as they basically shared their lives. They were both holding back some things, Adam knew that but even Ingrid was clearly emotionally drained as they ventured out for more food and drink. Ingrid had to hide in his bedroom when the door knocked, Mrs Branagh bringing Adam yet more food. "Are you sure you don't want to come join us for the evening Adam dear?" "No thanks Mrs Branagh, I forgot to turn my paper round alarm off this morning so I think I'll get an early night." Exchanging seasonal greetings with the woman, Adam sighed in relief when the door was locked behind her again. Calling up to Ingrid that it was safe, Adam looked at the mountain of food Mrs Branagh had left. "I think her and my mum conspired to make me diabetic while I'm alone, not that I'm complaining about having plenty of junk food to eat." Ingrid was also appeased by the pile of chocolate next to his Christmas dinner which was tossed in the microwave to be dealt with later. Refilling the flask of tea, Adam led Ingrid back upstairs and they ate their way through the pile of sweets and junk food. Wary of making themselves sick, they stopped and returned to lying together for a while. The pyjamas were shed and Adam let Ingrid take control again, unsure if asked whether he could choose between the rough, painfully arousing way she was touching and bruising him now or the slow, gentle and sweet twining of their bodies from before.

As she lay quaking on top of him afterwards, Adam felt the familiar twinges in his bitten shoulders and scratched back and sides. When Ingrid could stand again they staggered into the shower, Adam hissing at the sting in his new 'injuries' when the water hit but reassuring Ingrid he was fine. As they dried off, Ingrid looked down at her own body - currently only clad in a pair of Adam's boxers wrapped around her slim hips. "Even when it's practically a fight for who's on top, you never leave a mark on me. Why?" Leaning over to kiss Ingrid gently, Adam looked down at the pale canvas. "Because I care about your body, and I don't want to hurt you." Letting Ingrid lead him back to bed and watching his boxers hit the floor, Adam was slowly convinced into sucking a bruise on the creamy skin of Ingrid's thigh. He kissed over the mark, whispering apologies before taking advantage of his position. Ingrid's fingers twisted in his hair and he reveled in it, feeling her thighs shake around him as she came. He left Ingrid with a grin as he went to go wash his face and brush his teeth, sliding back into his bed and being pinned down by Ingrid again. "Last night we don't have to be careful, better make the most of it?" was murmured against his mouth, Adam agreeing as Ingrid straddled his hips again.

-ASYD-

 **I should sleep, but I know exactly how I want the next chapter to go... Choices choices.**


	20. Valentines Horror

**Don't own the characters.**

 **Yes, I have four other active things to write, a new series of one shots to start (I'm terrible, I know) and I'm back doing this pile of dark and weird AU... I can't help it, this is actually my favourite thing to write at the moment.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

They spent the rest of boxing day making the most of their time together, Ingrid leaving as midnight clocked in before she and Adam could surrender to the risk of being caught the next morning. Adam changed and washed his bedsheets, loathe to lose the scent of Ingrid's perfume on them but not wanting them to be found out because of it. Dumping the forgotten Christmas dinner and making the house look a little more used, Adam showered quickly and bundled up in his pyjamas. It felt strange lying in bed without Ingrid now, the cavernous space and lack of cool body next to his making him feel a bit lonely. He slept fitfully, rising early and pushing himself to make breakfast so it at least looked like he'd eaten something other than handy junk food so he and Ingrid could spend more time in bed together. His mum and sister were back by midday, George bounding to hug him and declaring she'd missed his pale face. He got more hugs from their mum, and they sat down for a late Christmas lunch and continued exchanging gifts.

George's gifts were predictable by this point, anything themed around stuff that could be dug up generally thrilled her. Adam's gifts were mostly practical things, clothes and shoes and movies for his rarely used TV. He and George had gone together to choose new arts supplies for their mum, which she loved. Adam had a few books and things from his grandparents, but he knew they'd never be tight knit and he'd sent them a photo of he, George and their mum when they'd visited. George wanted to try out her new skateboard but the ground outside was icy, so it had to wait until the weather started to clear up. "What's this?" Adam looked at what George was holding, realising he'd never even opened the gift Erin gave him. "No idea, it's from Erin. I completely forgot about it." Adam wasn't entirely sure it would be safe to open in front of his family but George would have opened it if he didn't. Thankfully, it was not some kind of sexual innuendo or joke, which he would not put past Erin and her secret mischievous side. "Is that a stake?" It was a joking "vampire slayers" kit, and a dreamcatcher that Adam thought she may have made herself. "I told Erin I get bad dreams about vampires sometimes, I guess she wanted to keep me safe. Look, I can stake them now!" The little stake was plastic, so George was unhurt when Adam mimed 'slaying' her and was promptly scolded by their mother. "No weapons at the dinner table!"

George held up the plastic bulb of garlic, waving it at their mum and declaring she wasn't a vampire when she didn't react. Adam took the gifts up to his room, sending Erin a thank you text and informing her George thought it hilarious. Looking at the dreamcatcher, Adam didn't really want to explain it to Ingrid and put it in the drawer next to the sketch of his father. He returned downstairs to watch Christmas movies with his family, watching George make an absolute mess with marshmallows and cream, eat more cake than any 10 year old should after a huge dinner and fall asleep across his lap as she always did. Their mum laughed as she picked a marshmallow out of George's thick hair, looking fondly at the sleeping child. "Can you take her up or do you want me to?" "I got it." Lifting George up, Adam carefully carried his sister to bed and tucked her in. Looking at the walls in her room, Adam fought a shudder at the memories of the words hidden in the pictures. "You alright son? You look like you've seen a ghost, and I don't mean your reflection." He couldn't help but chuckle at that, Michael's favourite joke about Adam's pale skin as a child whenever Adam was scared about something. "Yeah, I'm fine, just too full of all that great cooking!"

His mum waved him off to bed, promising to clear up after dinner because he looked like he was about to drop. Given how much sleep had been sacrificed to spend more time looking at Ingrid, and he didn't sleep much to begin with, Adam wasn't surprised. Falling across his bed, Adam felt lost in the space again. "Lonely?" Ingrid's name flashed across his screen as she texted him, as though she knew he was missing her presence in the bed. "Like you wouldn't believe. Still sore?" He smirked as he typed it out, while Ingrid made jokes about his 'keeping things up' he wasn't sure she was actually prepared for just how true it was, complaining he was an animal the last, desperate time they fell together as her body quaked. "Like you wouldn't believe. You can't be faring much better though, I don't think there's a part of your back unmarked by now." Ingrid's long, constantly filed nails had indeed left a deep impression on Adam's skin. They stopped texting soon after, both knowing without saying they'd succumb to seeing each other again if they didn't start distancing themselves, but those two nights with Ingrid had left Adam feeling stripped bare in more ways than one. Shaking his head, Adam rolled over to sleep with a promise to himself to rebuild those barriers tomorrow.

The Christmas holidays blurred past, Adam's new bike was truly broken in by his paper round and it was a struggle to balance Erin, Ingrid and spending family time together before school started again. Erin had been outright amused at the patterning of scarring marks on Adam's back when she saw it, bruising his chest thoroughly to match and laughing breathlessly as she lay next to him after. January made way to February and the bruise on Ingrid's thigh never faded for long, Adam was addicted to seeing the mark, deepening it until Ingrid was shaking. The Valentines disco was a sticking point, neither of Adam's 'relationships' were any kind of public and neither girl was aware of the identity of the other, though Adam thought them both intelligent enough to have guesses. There was a brief moment of relief when the disco appeared to be cancelled as the Branagh twins managed to break the rat cages in the science lab. However, a surprising friendship between both Robin's and Jonno's mum (who had appeared randomly in January and worked as a counsellor for the school) and Ingrid's father, Mr Count, had led to the disco being moved to the castle.

Robin had a date for the disco, and their friendship appeared to be otherwise back to normal and Adam was truly happy for his friend. The girl wasn't his type, but it didn't stop him feeling mildly relieved by the fact Robin hopefully wouldn't lash out angrily as he'd admitted to 'fancying' both Erin and Ingrid - the two girls Adam was entangled with. George and Chloe were both staying home, neither interested in boys and Adam's mum wasn't yet up to facing the first Valentines without Michael surrounded by happy couples. The Branagh twins were both hopelessly besotted with Ingrid, which made Adam cringe as they fawned over her. He wasn't jealous or possessive, he had no right to be, but the idea of any girl stuck with the Branagh twins was not a pleasant one. Adam thought he'd feel underdressed in his jeans and t-shirt, and Robin had convinced him to try out the eyeliner he'd brought months ago. As it turned out, he wasn't the only boy with makeup on and Robin had assured him he looked 'hot'. There was something to be said for being able to be so honest with each other, being pointless denying what had happened between them.

Mastering the urge to run a nervous hand through his hair as he entered the castle with the Branagh family, Adam's eyes scanned the crowds. Erin had said she was coming, as Ryan wanted to go with his girlfriend and their aunt and uncle didn't. Ingrid was fending off multiple boys, a small smile crossing Adam's face as he watched them strike out over and over. "Busy?" Erin's voice sounded behind him, and Adam enjoyed the slight widening of her eyes when she took in his 'new look'. The jeans were new, his old skinny jeans loose on his still shrinking frame - Adam had finally accepted he was still dropping weight. The new ones clung to his slim legs, his t-shirt framing the upper body muscle rugby training never let fade and the eyeliner highlighting his eyes against his pale skin. "Not particularly, just watching hopeless boys act desperate." Walking with Erin to get a drink rather than standing idly as people paired off, or tried to, Erin grinned. "It's hardly their fault you're a league above the rest." Looking down into the bright red punch, Adam tried to think of a witty response and failed. "I never considered myself above anyone, except maybe against the boys who expected me to be terrible at rugby." Erin was looking over at Ingrid now, grinning at the fawning boys.

"I don't know why you look so pleased, those boys all check you out like drooling stalkers too." "I was looking pleased because I realised who the other person you're... hanging out with is." Adam spluttered on his drink at Erin's bluntness and realisation. "I don't know what you mean" he managed to gasp out when he could breath again. "Course you don't. I don't know why you look so scared, if I was going to get jealous I would have by now don't you think?" Shrugging, Adam watched in confusion as Erin headed over to talk to Jonno, who looked utterly entranced at the fact a girl was talking to him voluntarily. He just about caught her wink before he turned away, looking around the room to see Robin smiling brightly at his date, Adam thought her name was Delilah but he wasn't sure. Not entirely sure he was allowed to but needing a break from the noise, Adam ducked into a side corridor and walked until it was a little more peaceful. He wasn't sure if he was surprised or not when he felt himself pulled through a doorway, recognising Ingrid's perfume as she kissed him. "Having fun being adored all evening?" Ingrid glared at him for a moment, the effect lost somewhat in the lust burning in her eyes. Her cool hands slid under his t-shirt, digging roughly into his back and Adam arched at the feelings. Knowing they were short on time if they didn't want to get caught, it was a frantic race to push his jeans down and her skirt up as Ingrid pinned him to what he assumed was a table and straddled him.

Groaning as they joined again, Adam felt her nails dig into his sides and her mouth seal over his collarbone. Her own whimpers of pleasure were muffled against his skin and Adam hoped the music would mask the sound of whatever they were on creaking as their hips moved. Redressing shakily, Adam tried to wipe the smirk off his face at Ingrid's smudged makeup when he was zipping his jeans. "Might want to fix your lipstick." "You might want to take yours off." Swiping at his mouth, Adam couldn't help laughing at the red smudge. Ingrid tossed him a wet wipe to clean his face, somehow always having a full makeup kit to hand. Getting a nod of approval when she looked up from her compact mirror, Adam waited for Ingrid to leave first. Looking around the room they were in, it was dimly lit by only a few candles but Adam would know the feel and scent of Ingrid in absolute darkness. The surface he'd been pinned to moments before was strange, thick wood and if he didn't know better, he'd say it was coffin shaped. Assuming he was seeing things in the low light, Adam peered through the door to check the coast was clear. Tugging his t-shirt up over the bruise blooming on his collarbone, Adam made a note to find his hooded jacket before he left. Stepping out into the empty hallway, Adam leapt in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I think you'll find the disco is that way young man." Adam tried to answer, but the words caught in his throat. "What are you staring at?" Mentally slapping himself, Adam ran for it. Barely stopping to pick up his jacket, he bolted out of the castle doors.

There was no way, he must have been seeing things. Pulling his jacket on, Adam staggered down the driveway and leant against the gargoyle Ingrid had pulled him onto the first night he'd been inside the castle. Staring up at the castle that haunted his dreams sometimes, and that currently contained both girls he'd been sleeping with, Adam felt sick. He'd never met Ingrid's father, most of their encounters having been at his house or on some occasions, school. Now he was hoping, praying and begging that he hadn't just met the man. If he had, he could congratulate his mother on a very accurate drawing. Because the man was a perfect representation of 'Count Dracula' in his dreams, and a perfect match to the drawing his mother had said was his father. Right down to the high cheekbones and long hair. "Adam?" Jerking out of his trance-like thoughts, Adam turned to find Robin. "What's wrong? You look... I don't know, devastated." There weren't words for what Adam was feeling, so Adam mumbled something about an argument with Erin, tasting the lie as he turned and ran from his friend. He barely made it half way home before he stopped to throw up, regretting the cakes and jellies at the party as he heaved into an alleyway. Wiping at his mouth, Adam hurried home and bolted into the shower. Scrubbing his skin harder, he admitted defeat and dragged himself into pyjamas.

His mum came up once he was back in his room, asking why he was in such a state. "I had a fight with Erin's brother, he thought I was making a move on her because it's Valentines Day and I left before it could escalate. Then I was cold and wanted to go to bed, so I showered." He was talking faster than usual, not sure the words he was speaking were what he meant to say. "Do you want to talk?" Adam shook his head. "Maybe tomorrow, I just want to sleep right now." "Alright then, sweet dreams son." Barely fighting tears until the door closed behind her, Adam looked at the drawer containing the picture. His phone buzzed with messages, but he couldn't bring himself to look. Finally pulling himself to open the drawer, shaking fingers pulled out the drawing. If that was Ingrid's father he'd met, then Adam was fairly certain the girl he was trying to deny falling for was his sister.

-ASYD-

 **This story isn't done yet, there is much more angst to come!**


	21. Family Troubles

**Don't own the characters.**

 **Basically, I sat down to update Chosen Two... but this story is burning in my head so**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Adam spent as long as possible ignoring his phone, his watch chiming midnight before he climbed up to hunt through his clothes pile for the thing buzzing with messages. Ingrid's perfumed scent was still on his t-shirt and Adam felt a fresh wave of tears stinging behind his eyes. Pulling out his phone, he prioritised what he thought he could deal with. Robin had texted him twice, to ask if he was ok and then in confusion as he saw Erin, and Erin was confused by his disappearance too. Typing out an apology, Adam pulled on a clean t-shirt and cargo shorts. The picture of his father went into one pocket, his phone in the other as he climbed out his window. Looking up at the castle, he couldn't see lights on so he hoped the party was over and nobody would be out at this hour while he walked. Robin tapped his window gently, grabbing Adam's attention. He shook his head, no doubt obviously tear-stained even in the moonlight to Robin's eyes. "Bad dream?" Adam nodded before turning and running off. "Want me to help?" Adam knew what Robin was offering, and part of him craved the pain, the burn that made everything else go away for a moment. But he wasn't going to drag Robin down with him, so he pointed out Robin had a girlfriend now and Adam wasn't going to come between that.

The cold air bit into his exposed skin as he ran, stopping for breath and texting an apology to Erin. "I needed to get away, your name was the first that came into my head. Sorry." Ingrid's messages ran from "Where did you go?" to "Did you run into my dad and get killed this time?" and finally "Got what you wanted and left?". His chest ached with guilt at that, Ingrid wasn't the one who started this mess. Erin buzzed to ask if he was alright, and Adam found a hollow chuckle leaving his mouth as he told her he was going to sleep. Feeling the tear tracks on his face turn cold, Adam scrubbed over his eyes again. Faint smudges of eyeliner he hadn't got off in the shower marred the back of his hand and Adam rubbed it angrily against his t-shirt. Looking around where he'd ended up running to, the thin clothes he was wearing leaving him shivering as well as shaking with sobs, Adam recognised the park. Memories of the day with Erin, the first time they'd spoken properly and became friends while watching George and Chloe play. It was also the first time he'd seen Ingrid, sat under a tree in the shade and he could still remember being struck by her beauty then. And now, she was as related to him as George was and he felt like pitching himself into the cold river just to make everything numb for a while.

Fingering the picture in his pocket, Adam tried to master his nerve. "Do you remember the first time we saw each other?" Ingrid didn't answer his message, but Adam had lost himself staring at the moon for a while and practically leapt out of his skin when a hand touched his shoulder. Bracing himself, Adam turned to see Ingrid. Her eyes were full of anger and confusion, but he could see the hurt around the edges. He wanted to hold her, to kiss away the sadness so much it ached and Adam hated himself for it. "What in the name of sanity is wrong with you?" Normally he'd push his luck, make a comment like "I didn't know you cared" and Ingrid would be rougher with him for it later and he'd love it. Now he was obviously a mess, tears and eyeliner smudged across his eyes and shivering and shaking. Trying to meet her eyes, the blue and silver burning in the moonlight, Adam felt his chest ache again. Unable to deal with the feelings still stirred when he looked at Ingrid, Adam dropped his eyes and handed her the drawing.

"What is this?" "Open it." His voice was hollow, but quivered as his body shook. Ingrid opened it, looking at him strangely. "You drew a picture of my dad?" Feeling the pain in his soul now, Adam shook his head. "My mum drew a picture of my father. I ran into him after... you left the room earlier." Ingrid didn't speak, looking at the white paper shining in the moonlight, the unspoken words screaming between them. Feeling his knees go weak from exhaustion, emotion and cold, Adam sank to the floor and felt himself start crying again. She handed him the paper back and Adam stuffed it into his pocket, uncaring that it would be creased after he'd cared for it for so long. He didn't need it, he could go meet the man himself if he wanted now it seemed. Ingrid grasped his wrist, pulling him to sit on a bench and Adam followed mechanically, tears still streaming. She sat next to him and Adam couldn't find the energy to fight when she pulled him close, her own body shaking with suppressed sobs as he cried on her shoulder.

When he started to calm down, feeling all cried out, he dragged himself away from Ingrid and it physically hurt to lose her body against his. "What are we going to do? We can't exactly take it back." "I have no idea. What are the odds of something like this happening and us moving to the same backwater town? Wait. When's your birthday?" "I'll be fifteen at the end of June." Adam was mildly confused when Ingrid hissed angrily. "I thought you knew how old I was." "Oh. I do. I just realised that means I was less than six months old when he was off... making you." Neither of them could bring themselves to say the word father now, like it would be admitting they had to give up the connection they now knew was every kind of wrong. Adam stood up, the spot under the tree calling to him now. "Where are you going?" "To the tree. I'm struggling to sit where I sat watching George play the first time I saw you." Ingrid followed him, still looking confused but she let him sit down beneath the tree and pull her into his lap to clutch her tightly.

"This isn't helping matters, you know that right?" The lump in his throat was back at Ingrid's words, barely pushing his own words out to answer. "I don't think anything will." "What is it kids here say? Google it." Adam found a chuckle falling from him in surprise then. "Right, I'm sure google is designed for I'm in love with a girl I just found out is probably my sister." "You what?" Ingrid turned on his lap then, kneeling next to his legs and facing him. "I love you. I tried to pretend I wasn't falling for you, but I think we're past the point of lying now." Ingrid's eyelashes were damp on his own tear-stained cheeks as they kissed, the ache in his chest soothed and the guilt muted as he lost himself in the feel of her. She said what they were both thinking as they broke apart for air, murmuring "we shouldn't" against his lips before she kissed him again. The second her mouth was on his again, Adam forgot to care and let her climb back onto his lap, the all-too-familiar feeling of their bodies pressed tightly together stirring his body in ways he knew it shouldn't.

Ingrid's hips rocked against his, out of desire or habit Adam didn't know as he whimpered into her mouth. They broke apart again, panting heavily and Adam felt like his head was swimming. Ingrid's breath was warm against his chilled skin in the night air as she whispered "Do you want me to stop?", just like he had the first time. "No, but I should." Ingrid's face softened slightly, pale and beautiful in the moonlight and Adam felt his whole body pulse with the love he knew he shouldn't be feeling. "I know. But if I'd have known it was the last time before, it wouldn't have been in a rushed fuck in a store cupboard while half the school was nearby." Nodding, Adam closed the distance, kissing Ingrid softly and slipping his hands under her jumper on instinct. The gasp she echoed into his mouth filled him with desire, deepening the kiss and pushing her to lie on her back gently. Trembling hands pushed their clothes away, Ingrid's pale skin glowing in the night and the cold temperature didn't matter as they traced heated touches over each other, the fading bruise on her thigh a fitting symbol of what this was.

Their bodies slid together with ease, fitting the other in ways he should hate as Ingrid shook beneath him. Adam tried to draw it out, the knowledge this would never happen cutting deep inside as he moved his hips gently, trying to commit the feelings of being inside her, having her wrapped around him in every way to memory as Ingrid clung to his shoulders, whimpering desperately with every thrust. He was caught off guard when Ingrid came, quaking with pleasure and the words "I love you too" falling from her lips, pushing Adam over the edge with an intensity bordering on painful as he surrendered to it all. The air was colder on their sweaty skin as they dressed shakily, not even making a token effort to resist when Ingrid kissed him again. Ingrid's head buried in the crook of his neck, clinging to him for a moment against the tree. He felt her lips brush over his pulse point, having no doubt she could feel it race as she did so.

His next sound was one of surprise, Ingrid latching on hard, biting and sucking at his neck until his legs shook. It was a new feeling, having always been careful with any bed-partner to limit marks to where his clothes would cover. As Ingrid let go, Adam looked at her with what he expected were widened eyes. "I've been dying to do that for months, I won't get another chance now will I?" Unsure how to answer that, Adam nodded and brushed his lips over hers again. "I hate this. I'm hoping I'll wake up and the Valentines disco was all a terrible dream." "All?" Ingrid quirked an eyebrow at him. "Don't, this is hard enough as it is. Come on, I'll walk you back to the castle." Mostly, he wanted one last chance to feel her hand in his. Their fingers laced together tightly, both forcing themselves to look ahead instead of at each other as they walked up the sloping roads to Stokely Castle. They stopped at the gates, both knowing if Adam crossed them he wouldn't leave again. It wasn't the last time they'd see each other, but Adam knew he and Ingrid would have to learn how to be normal and not... this, so he used the last chance to memorise her face with no barriers between them, cupping her cheek as he kissed her goodbye.

"Sounds strange after everything, but see you at school?" Ingrid turned back, nodding stiffly and heading up the castle driveway. Feeling the aching compulsion the castle often gave him, coupled with watching Ingrid walk away with his heart, Adam barely realised just how cold he was now until he was trying to convince stiff limbs to climb back up to his bedroom window. Barely avoiding crashing to the floor as he managed to curl up beneath his bedcovers, Adam cried. His bed didn't help, memories of Ingrid laying next to him encouraged by the scent of her perfume on the clothes he was still wearing. He eventually fell asleep, his dreams constantly showing the face of Ingrid's father in the hallway, and his mum and George turning away from him, saying they knew what he'd done and he was not their family now. Bolting upright and still feeling the chilled stiffness, Adam checked it was an acceptable time to go and shower. Crawling beneath the hot spray, he finally felt his body thaw but the cleansing water did nothing for the ache inside him. Drying off after, Adam looked at himself in the mirror to see if the inner turmoil was written across his face.

The bruise on his neck quashed his hopes everything had been a terrible nightmare, tracing over it gently and feeling the sting of Ingrid's nails in his sides as he bent to pull on clean pyjamas. His collarbone was still purpling where Ingrid had bitten down on him before, stark on his pale skin as he pulled a hoodie on. The jumper didn't totally cover the mark on his neck, so Adam regretfully smudged concealer over it until it was sufficiently hidden. It felt like hiding part of himself, but then Adam was no stranger to that by now. Glad there was no school today, Adam headed to the kitchen and downed mug after mug of coffee until his hands shook and his throat burned. When his mum, Chloe and George came downstairs Adam felt a fresh wave of nausea at the sight of his little sister. It had been a lot easier to ignore the repercussions of their actions in the dark beneath the moon, but he was forcibly reminded of the fact Ingrid was just as much a blood relative as the innocent little girl in front of him now. He barely made it back upstairs to throw up, heaving and flushing away what was mostly just coffee now. "Are you alright son?" His mums face hovered anxiously behind him in the mirror as Adam brushed his teeth.

"Think I overdid it on the junk food last night." Adam couldn't bring himself to look his mother in the eye, shuddering inwardly in revulsion at his own reflection. "Why don't you get back into bed and I'll bring you up a cup of tea?" Feeling the shaking in his limbs Adam nodded, crawling back into his too-big bed and expecting he looked sufficiently pathetic when his mum appeared with tea. She smoothed back his sweaty fringe, kissing his temple and telling him to get some rest as he 'really didn't look well'. Downing the tea while it was still hot enough to burn his raw throat, Adam pulled out the barely-touched games console and vented his frustration out on pixellated characters until his shaking hands wouldn't let him. Tossing the controller down angrily, Adam rolled over to look at his phone still on charge - it had died while he was out with Ingrid. Game requests from George attacked him and Adam flicked them away quickly, not sure he could stomach seeing her name without twisting with nausea right now.

A few worried texts off Robin, who had seen Adam in his half way to a meltdown state last night. Adam reassured Robin he was home safely in bed, and not to worry but that he was spending the day resting after a rough night. He managed to fall asleep again for a while, the dreams gradually worsening until Adam woke up crying. Scrubbing at his teary eyes again, his fingers traced the bruise on his neck. His phone vibrated again then, and Adam wasn't sure if he hoped it was or wasn't Ingrid. Either way didn't matter, as it was Erin. "If you're still looking for a valentine, house is empty tonight." Adam hated himself as he asked what time, hating himself more as he was locking his door and texting his mum to say he was going to sleep so she wouldn't check on him in the night. Knowing he had his paper round in the morning, Adam cycled over to Erin's house the second he felt safe enough to leave his home that evening. Erin opened the door as he locked his bike up by the side of her house, taking in the look on his face and leading him to her bed. The pain and pleasure twisting inside him was routine now, his body reacting instinctually as he lost himself in the heat of Erin's body. Laying next to her after, still shaking and relishing the way his chest and back stung under new bruises and new scratches, Adam felt her stroke over his skin.

"What happened last night? Did she dump you?" Supposing that was as close to the truth as he could get without revealing the actual events, Adam nodded. "You could say that, though I think dumped implies a relationship." His throat still felt a little raw, no doubt exacerbated by the sounds of pain and pleasure Erin had drawn out of him. She handed him a water bottle, watching as he drank it down. "Thanks, I didn't realise how sore my throat was until now." He handed the bottle back, stretching out to feel the new aches before setting his alarm. "Is this the part where you tell me 'some of us have jobs' again when you sneak out in the early hours?" Adam nodded, emotional and physical exhaustion catching up on him as he let Erin pull him around her, her body heat soaking into his skin as he drifted off. He had to credit Erin, she never complained when he woke her up with his nightmares. Much like tonight, when he had to make a dash for her bathroom as he threw up again, though by now there was nothing but water in his stomach. Erin helped him stand, wiping down his sweaty face and handing him the toothbrush hidden away for him here. She gave him more water, waiting until he swallowed it down before pulling him back to bed. "Still a few hours before you have to leave, try and sleep again." Feeling her fingers trace over his arm where it was wrapped around her waist, Adam let her words lull him back to slumber.

-ASYD-

 **Surprisingly, this isn't as angsty/bad as things get muahahaha.**


	22. Falling Apart

**Don't own recognisable characters *yawn***

 **This story is almost done, a few chapters to go, though it will have a sequel.**

 **To all of you reading this and rocketing up my viewing figures daily, thank you from the bottom of my cold, unbeating heart.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Adam's sleep was fitful, full of Ingrid's face and his breaking heart. He woke up with silent tears on his face as his alarm buzzed, going to brush his teeth and finding Erin in his t-shirt making coffee when he followed the sounds downstairs in his jeans. "I don't think I've thanked you enough, you just sort of crept into my life and helped drag me through some dark times. You don't complain when I wake you, and you get up and make me coffee. You're pretty great, you know that?" Erin smiled brightly at him, sleep still around the edges as she drank her tea. "I try. You need someone to keep you going, what would you do without me?" Wishing he could drag her back to bed and thank her properly, Adam downed the last of his coffee. "I'm going to need my shirt back to leave." Erin looked pointedly at his ravaged skin, smirking as she lifted his shirt off and tossed it to him. Adam tried not to stare but even in his current state, Erin's half naked body was appealing and he grumbled as he dressed. "Damn paper round." "Homework date monday?" Adam nodded, thinking of how much of a mess he was likely to be after seeing Ingrid all day and knowing Erin was thinking along the same lines. "Yeah, mums at work and George will disappear practically before we get through the door. See you at school."

Erin kissed him goodbye, her bare skin warm beneath his hands before he dragged himself out into the cool air of early morning. Mounting his bike, Adam pushed himself through the round and went to change back into pyjamas for the usual sunday movie day. Without the distraction of Erin, everything came crashing back down on him, not helped when he realised the concealer on his neck had rubbed off in his sleep. The bruise was still stark, Adam biting back tears as he covered his bruise and the marks of exhaustion beneath his eyes. Running his fingers through his hair, Adam dragged himself away from his reflection. He didn't want to look at himself. Sitting on the sofa with his next mug of coffee Adam shuddered to himself. George came down sleepily, munching noisily on cornflakes and he felt fresh nausea rise. If Ingrid's father had known Adam was to be born, would he have spent time seeing Ingrid in a similar state? He had done over Christmas, but that was before... before he knew.

Adam stared blankly at the movies flickering across the TV for hours, barely remembering to send George for her bath, mechanically preparing lunches and feeling a new wave of tears as he brushed her hair before bed. Would George even come near him again if she knew what he'd done? Would his mum even be able to look at him? George going to bed was a relief, leaving him to hate himself in peace as he showered, tearing his eyes away from the revealed bruise again and crawling into bed. The tears hit again as memories of Ingrid lying next to him washed through him, his chest aching as he thought of seeing her tomorrow. After everything that had happened in the last year, Adam now truly felt like the bottom had fallen out of his world and he had no idea how to keep everything inside. Digging his fingers roughly into a fresh scratch down his side, the pain soothed him a little and the tears slowed. Curling up facing away from where Ingrid would have been waiting for him to put his arms around her, Adam fought the tremors in his shoulders and tried to sleep.

No sleep came, Adam left awake all night feeling the memories in the park with Ingrid burning inside him until he got up for his paper round. There was barely a moment of his morning not spent wrapped around a mug of coffee, and Adam found himself shoving his hands in his pockets to hide the shaking when they joined the Branaghs to walk to school. Robin didn't push Adam to talk, which he was endlessly grateful for as he worried the entire mess would spill from his mouth if he tried. Sitting next to Ingrid all day was abject torture, the smell of her perfume haunting him through every class. By lunchtime he was fighting not to break down, some kind of desperation in his eyes apparent to Erin when she pulled him into a darkened classroom to tug at his trousers then tear at his skin. "Thank you." was all he managed to say as he zipped himself up and helped tuck her school blouse back into her skirt, ducking out of the room first and managing to stare intently at his lunch. He ate habitually, but even though he'd made the food he could not have told anyone what it was the moment he'd swallowed it.

"Come on ghost face, you owe me help on this English work after I practically wrote your History assignment." George giggled at Erin using his nickname, turning Adam's stomach at the innocent sibling skipping along in front of him. Ingrid hadn't so much as looked at him all day, though from the complaining of the twins he guessed she was in a darker mood than usual. George was predictably dashing in and out of the house, giving Adam a knowing grin as she headed over to the Branaghs for the afternoon. They didn't bother with pretense, falling into Adam's bed within minutes of coming through the door and he let images of Erin on his bed override the ones of Ingrid as they stripped the others clothes away. The heat burning into him as Erin's body accepted his melted his troubles away for precious minutes, and Erin made no complaints when once wasn't enough to sate Adam's desire for pain and pleasure to dance across his nerves.

"Come on, shower then we better actually get some homework done to show for the afternoon." Adam let Erin lead him to the shower, kissing her desperately under the water before they rinsed off. She seemed surprised when Adam helped fix her hair, she normally avoided getting it wet but he'd left her little choice today. "How many girls have you done this for?" "Have you seen George's hair? Me or mum have to brush it carefully after she washes it or it will take over the world." Quickly running his hairdryer over his own hair, which was starting to curl beneath his ears and at the base of his neck now it had been a while since it was cut, Adam pulled on clean clothes while Erin placed her tie, blazer and jumper in a pile on the sofa and sat at the table with her books out. Making drinks and joining her, Adam forced himself to focus on his work. They were done before either George or his mum were back, mindlessly watching quiz shows together as Erin lay across his body with no negotiation. She kept trying to make him laugh, shouting out nonsense answers to the questions and Adam found himself actually smiling briefly.

"Oh, hello Erin. Been keeping ghost boy here hard at work?" The teens were now sat in a perfectly acceptable platonic manner, opposite ends of the sofa holding mugs rather than hands. "Well, someone has to!" "Munchkin, have you always been this annoying or is it getting worse with age?" George stuck her tongue out before turning to rummage through the kitchen for cookies, running away from their mum with her 'stash' poorly disguised in her hands. "You'll spoil your dinner! I don't know where that girl gets her energy from." Erin was smiling fondly as George barreled around the house, finally slowing down with chocolate smeared across her cheek. His mum went to drive Erin home, returning with a knowing smile after Adam wrestled a sugar-hyped George into going to bed. "No mum, we still aren't dating. We did homework. Yes, she's lovely." Having had this conversation multiple times before, Adam thought he'd save the time of his mum asking the questions. "Oh love, I know. I just like winding you up!" The facade he was maintaining was starting to crumble so Adam hurried off to bed himself soon after, the smell of hormones, guilt and the fresh-laundry scent of Erin's deodorant heavy in his room.

Pushing the window open slightly to 'air out' the room, Adam remembered all the times he'd done that so Ingrid could creep into his room at night. That wouldn't happen again now, it couldn't. Picking up his phone, Adam quickly answered all of George's frantic game requests. He hadn't been able to bring himself to delete the text history with Ingrid, though anyone who found it would easily be able to guess the previous nature of their relationship. It occurred to him briefly that he'd gone from juggling three bed-mates at once to now being something akin to exclusive with Erin, and part of him recognised that as a fourteen year old boy he shouldn't be anywhere near this level of depravity and darkness in his soul. Erin knew she was the only person he was 'seeing' now, but he'd seen her twice since and she hadn't so much as brought that up, so Adam was content to leave things as they were for now.

* * *

The next two months crawled along in a similar manner, Ingrid refusing to even look him in the eye and Erin letting him drown the blackness in his heart in her body whenever they could. Even her accepting personality couldn't ignore that Adam was teetering on the edge of dangerously thin, he'd had to give up rugby after he almost broke his wrist falling under a tackle because he wasn't paying attention and most of his clothes were too big. Adam wasn't consciously not eating, but whenever he was alone he sat sinking into thoughts of pure self-hatred and anger, his heart still calling out for Ingrid whenever it wasn't distracted by Erin's soft smiles, and sometimes even then. Erin never pushed, listening to him mumble about his dreams in the moments between sex and sleep at night in her bed and treating him like any other friend when anyone else was around. He'd finally gotten to a point of falling asleep without crying himself hoarse beforehand each night, forcing smiles on his face around his mum and George and hanging out with Robin like a normal friend.

Erin saw through him easily, knowing when to leave him alone and when he needed her to press his body to any available surface and mark his skin until he was hovering between coming and crying in pain. Adam was concerned at times, he barely slept and he hardly ate when nobody was watching, his hands were starting to shake randomly rather than just when he overindulged in caffeine. Most of the time though, he was a little bit numb to it all, sitting on his window ledge to stare up at the castle for hours and wondering how much worse it could make things if he went up there. The only upside to it all was a reduction in the horrific nightmares of vampires. Though as they were replaced by nightly pictures of everyone finding out that he and Ingrid were related, and what they'd done, and everyone turning their back on him for the monster inside, he wasn't sure that was actually a win for him. The bruise on his neck had faded weeks ago, but Adam still traced the spot it had been with his fingers.

Erin was out with her brother and his mum and George had just left for bingo with Mrs Branagh and Chloe, and Adam was lazing across the sofa in his pyjamas as it was a Friday, his uniform in the laundry pile. Getting irritated with the buzz of the television in the background, Adam turned it off and pulled up an 'Aiden' album on his phone. It was one of the many rock or metal bands Robin listened to, though one of the few Adam agreed were good and he'd added their music to the memory on his phone, spending hours with earphones drowning out the world in melodic music. Tidying up absent-mindedly, he picked up one of Chloe's psychology books she'd left from the last time she stayed over. Figuring it might be wordy enough to distract from the ever-deepening break in his heart, Adam flicked through it. There was a chapter on adoption, which Adam took a look at given how it was a close call to him being part of that very category. His heart stuttered a little when he came to something called "Genetic Sexual Attraction", something about how people were attracted to common features, and how people that were related but never met until adulthood had become sexually attracted to their brothers, sisters and even parents. And that was after they knew they were related.

Well, if he had to be sick and twisted enough to have slept with his sister, it was nice to know he wasn't the only one. Thinking on Ingrid's face still hurt, but Adam tried to consider the words in the book. Blue eyes and high cheekbones, pale faces. Ingrid did look a little like him now he thought of it, not noticeably or someone would have spotted it in the months of her sitting next to him in school. It was equal parts disturbing and soothing to think about, now there was a reason for why he was so powerfully attracted to her, but cementing the thought again that he was in love with his sister. Even the time where Ingrid all but completely ignored his existence hadn't diminished his feelings, the skip in his chest every morning when her soft scent filled his lungs and the spark of happiness when he saw her face still as apparent as they had been before. Now they were more painful, powerful desire and loss knotting in his stomach and making him feel sick.

Putting the book aside before he tore it in a fit of anguish, Adam gave up on the day as a bad job and took himself up to bed. Eight o clock on a friday night and here he was, staring unseeingly at a Harry Potter book in bed. Not that Adam wished to be many other places he supposed. A dull ache hit his chest as he remembered it was less than two weeks until Ingrid's birthday. He wasn't sure why thoughts of Ingrid's sixteenth birthday disturbed him so, but something in his mind was set off by it. Giving up on the book as he had read the same sentence four times and had no idea what it said, Adam tossed it aside and turned his light off. Staring blankly at his ceiling, he jumped when he heard his window close. "Ingrid" he breathed the name into the dark, her face unmistakable even in the limited light. He knew it shouldn't, but the sight of her in his room made the cracks in his chest feel healed, something in him joyously happy to see her. "I don't know why I came here." Getting up to push his curtains closed before anyone saw Ingrid standing over his bed, Adam couldn't help but wrap his arms around her.

Ingrid melted into the embrace almost instantly, whimpering against his neck as tears fell onto his skin. "Fuck, I've missed you." Ingrid shook harder at his words, crying softly into his neck. She pulled back to look at him questioningly when he moved to push her jacket away. Shaking his head, Adam looked at her pleadingly. "I just want to hold you. Please?" Ingrid nodded, letting him remove the layers between them and pulling her to lie on his bed. It was as though it had been no time at all as his body instinctively cocooned hers, Adam crying himself now at the familiarity of it all. The darkness masked the marks on his skin where he'd sought solace from everything in Erin over and over, but Adam still felt exposed as Ingrid turned to rest her head over his heartbeat. "I missed you too" the words were barely even a whisper against his skin, her cool fingers tracing over raised welts on his chest. Hearing the slamming of a car door outside, Adam barely managed to pull himself away to lock his bedroom door under Ingrid's bright gaze.

"Did you know there are others like us?" Ingrid's fingers stopped their mapping of his chest, but moved to lace through the hand not wrapped around her shoulders. "You mean siblings? Yeah, I knew that much." "No. Well, yes, but I meant people who meet years down the line and find themselves attracted to, or even in love with people they are related to. It even has a name." Ingrid moved then, turning away from him but pulling his arm to roll with her, spooning against her back again. Her fingers traced over the arm on her waist, the skin beneath her touch tingling. "I'm pretty sure the name is something I never want to have to say out loud." "Not that one." Adam knew what she meant, but he couldn't imagine the word... incest... even coming close to describing he and Ingrid. "Why?" "Because that word makes me think of something sick and wrong, and I still can't see that in us. Even now."

Footsteps creaked near his door then and Adam felt Ingrid shift in his arms, leaning up and brushing her lips over his jaw. Adam shivered, the brief contact making sparks skitter over his skin. "Are you trying to get us caught?" Adam hissed against her ear, and the mischievous smirk on Ingrid's face made his pulse quicken. Figuring he could play her at her own game Adam teased fingers over the front of her t-shirt, ghosting touches across her chest. Ingrid bit her lip to stifle the sound and Adam smirked back at her. Their eyes met for a moment, Adam certain both of them could see the "we shouldn't" in the other. It didn't stop Adam leaning down, cupping Ingrid's cheek softly and kissing her. Ingrid responded quicker now, clutching at his arm and pressing the length of her body into his. She whimpered into his mouth, breaking away to pant harshly into his neck, muffling the sound in his skin. Pressing a finger to his lips, Adam stood and fiddled with his TV for a moment. He couldn't sleep with the light, but he'd gotten speakers that worked with the DVD player rather than TV and played sound quietly to fill the silence at night. Adjusting the volume so it would mask their quiet speech but not disturb the others in the house, Adam slotted back into Ingrid's embrace and kissed her harder.

"Lord of the rings? Really?" Ingrid whispered against his mouth as the theme music rolled through the speakers quietly. "Longest movie I own." Clearly tired of talking, Ingrid moved Adam's hand to the hem of her t-shirt. Rather than lift it as she was expecting, Adam slipped his hand beneath the fabric, exploring the pale curves he knew to be hidden there. "I missed you. I love you." Adam couldn't help the words falling from him as their bodies twined again, letting the tears fall when Ingrid pulled them closer and her heartbeat raced against the skin of his chest. She bit down on his neck again as she came, sucking a bruise until Adam shuddered in release and pulled away from her. He could feel Ingrid still quaking slightly as she lay on his sweat-slick chest, though his own limbs were still shaky as he stroked her hair gently.

"I didn't actually come here for this." "I didn't think you did." They moved back to chest-to-back as they came down and Adam pressed a soft kiss to Ingrid's shoulder. "I'm leaving school next month." "After your birthday?" Ingrid nodded. "You remembered." "With you, I remember everything. Are you leaving Stokely? Or just school? Is it because of me?" The implication of Ingrid's words hit him slowly, the afterglow still fuzzy in his mind. "No, yes and no." "Why are you leaving then?" Ingrid sighed in his arms, resuming her tracing over his forearm. "It's complicated." "And this isn't?" "Fair point." Clutching around Ingrid a little tighter, Adam tried a different question. "Will I see you again? After your birthday?" "I don't know. We aren't exactly dealing with this well now are we? This time next month it won't just be the sibling thing, I'll legally be too old for you." Adam felt his chest twinge in pain at that. "That's only for a year or so though. And we are hardly shouting about this from the rooftops now."

"Look, I just... I don't know. This is every kind of wrong. I should go." Adam whimpered then, not willing to let her go. "Please don't. We don't have to talk. Or do anything. Just stay until I have to go do my paper round. Please?" Given that he was holding her tightly, Ingrid relaxed back into his hold. "Fine. Set your alarm and let's go to sleep." Loathe to let her go but not wanting Ingrid to get annoyed and leave, Adam rolled over to set his alarm and hurried to press his skin back to hers. For a moment, not everything was falling apart so long as Ingrid was in his arms. "And please turn that infernal speaker set off, how do you sleep with that on?" Adam couldn't help chuckling as he did so, Ingrid's usual attitude rearing up and making him smile a little in spite of everything. He felt the embers of happiness fade as he thought of how they'd have to deal with this all over again in the morning.

-ASYD-

 **There's two, maybe three chapters left of this to go!**


	23. Discoveries and Dangers

**Don't own the characters.**

 **Penultimate chapter! Next will be last, then it's on to the sequel to deal with the... aftermath.**

 **Heartfelt thanks to everyone who reads this, especially my little band of followers/favouriters.**

 **On we go!**

-ASYD-

Adam could hardly sleep that night, trying to stretch out the time Ingrid was wrapped in his arms and ignoring what the morning would bring. His alarm broke the precious silent hours of Ingrid's rhythmic breathing and he shook her gently awake. They crept in and out of the bathroom, Ingrid silent as they dressed in the dark, as though the light would show their secrets. Stealing outside before the sun could rise, Ingrid pressed against him to kiss him goodbye, lowering her head to brush over the bruise on his throat until he shivered against her. "Til Monday then?" Ingrid nodded, still not uttering a word as she turned and left. Adam watched her go, feeling the ache of loss all over again as he did so. Sighing to himself, he got on his bike and did his rounds, feeling like his life was counting down to Ingrid's birthday when she may disappear from his life forever.

In spite of feeling like the discovery had his world crumbling to pieces, Adam had yet to mention to anyone he'd discovered his father. It couldn't stay hidden forever, Mrs Branagh was friends with the man so it was inevitable his mum would meet Mr Count at some point. The irony of Ingrid's surname was not lost on him, given that her father periodically featured in his nightmares as Count Dracula. Good thing vampires don't actually exist outside of Robin's mind and Adam's nightmares, or his life would literally fall to bits. Even if Robin still insisted fangs suited him, the plastic ones he'd given Adam as a gift periodically convinced into his mouth as a joke. Adam realised he hadn't covered the new bruise on his neck yet, hurrying to mask it with makeup before his mum or George woke up. Reclining on the sofa feeling sadness pulse inside him, Adam looked despondently into his coffee. His mum found him there a couple of hours later, staring into a now empty mug. "Bad night son?"

"Yeah, didn't sleep well. It's alright though, it's a saturday and I have coffee." "Well at least you can relax today, George is predictably planning to stay next door all weekend and I'm off to work in a couple of hours. Why not invite Erin or Robin over, have a... what do you kids call it, chill day?" Adam had to stifle a chuckle, his mother had no idea what 'chill' meant to teenagers these days. "Robin's on a date this afternoon, but I'll give Erin a text and see if she's up for working on our English essays together." His mum smiled, handing him fresh coffee and joining him on the sofa to chat about his week at school. Adam didn't mention the part where his unknown half-sister had climbed through his window to spend the night in his bed, and made himself smile as he talked in spite of it feeling like enormous effort not to mention how much darkness was weighing on him.

He did text Erin to say his house would be empty until early evening, and she replied to say she'd be over in an hour and that Adam was definitely helping with her essay on Great Expectations, as she hated the book. Adam headed off to shower as his mum left for work, not bothering to cover his neck up again when he dressed. The teens sat doing homework for an hour or so, and Adam was hard pushed to convince Erin to wait until they got upstairs as she tried to pin him to the sofa. Her fingers found the bruise on his neck after his shirt was pulled off, her eyes full of questions but Adam wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Erin didn't push, letting him kiss her and press her to the bed. She bit at his collarbone and scratched at his shoulders, moaning in appreciation and shuddering in pleasure beneath him.

Lying on his chest after, Erin stroked soft touches over his slim stomach. "I'm going to start bringing you cakes when I come over, at this rate George's clothes will be all that fit you." Adam knew she wasn't judging him, just pointing out he was gradually losing his grip over things in her gentle manner. The warm fingers slid up his chest then to trace the bruise on his throat. "Between this and my assumption you haven't started wearing perfume, Ingrid?" Adam nodded, feeling Erin brush a kiss over his chest. "Yeah, she turned up last night, fucked me and left." It was a lie, but Adam couldn't bring himself to even try and begin to explain last night. "I think she's leaving Stokely soon though, so maybe it was a goodbye lay." "Leaving Stokely? They've been here less time than either me or you." Adam shrugged as best he could in the present position. "I don't know, maybe they're planning to move back to wherever they came from, Eastern Europe or something."

Erin just nodded, pulling him back against her and brushing heated touches over his skin. They showered after, dressing and Adam walked Erin home, holding hands as the sky darkened. "See you at school then?" Adam nodded, kissing her cheek as they were outside her house and smiling until she was inside. His face fell as soon as Erin was out of sight, knowing the temporary distraction wouldn't change the deep gnawing ache in his chest as he jogged home. He managed to get his bedsheets into the laundry before his mum got back, given how they now carried the scent of both Erin and Ingrid on them and that was a little too obvious. It meant staying up late waiting for them to come out of the tumble dryer, but Adam simply stared into his coffee mug until they were done. "Not even Sunday and this weekend has been far too eventful." Adam mumbled to himself, scrubbing a hand through his hair. He was just finished re-making his bed and returned downstairs when his mum came through the door, and Adam had a heart-stopping moment of realisation as her eyes found his neck.

"Son, anything you'd like to tell me?" Adam felt his cheeks flush, turning away from the knowing smile on his mothers face. "No?" Given that he wasn't about to explain where the bruise had actually came from, the only assumption his mum could make was Erin. "It's alright Adam, Erin is a very nice girl." Feeling his face heat further Adam shook his head. "It's not like that, we were just fooling around." Well, that was totally the wrong thing to say. "Is that what they call hickeys these days?" "Mum!" She chuckled at his reddened face. "I don't think you've ever had so much colour in your cheeks son. I promise, I won't say another word. I doubt George will be so forgiving though." "I've got some costume makeup from Robin trying to make me look even more dead, I'll cover it up in the morning." His mum dropped the grin then, looking more serious. "Is this where we need to have 'the talk'?" "Oh please no! It's really not like that mum, we're only fourteen! It was bad enough getting the basics at school." Not to mention Adam was already more experienced in such things than he had any right to be, but he wasn't sharing that with her either.

"Alright, but you can always come and talk to me about these things alright?" Adam nodded, hoping this embarrassing moment was now over. "Did you walk her home like a gentleman?" "Of course. Stokely might be as dangerous as a fluffy cushion, but I wouldn't let her walk home by herself in the dark." "That's my boy. Go on, it's late so get yourself to bed. One more thing though." Adam turned back to his mum expectantly. "Did you get any homework done?" "Oh very funny, yes we did. Goodnight mother!" Adam hurried off, his mothers giggles following him up the stairs. "Goodnight son!" Growling to himself as his door closed, Adam flopped back onto his bed and sighed. Changing into pyjamas, he sat on the window ledge and stared up at the castle again until his skin felt icy through the open window. Stumbling on stiff limbs to the bathroom, he brushed his teeth and inspected the love bite. It wasn't hugely different to the last one Ingrid gave him, though there was something undeniably appealing about her marking him in an obvious place, even if Adam now had an awkward explanation to make to Erin.

Scrubbing his tired face quickly, Adam headed back to his room. He wasn't prepared to find Ingrid already on his bed, looking at him with sad eyes as he locked his door. "I shouldn't be here." "Then why are you?" Adam crossed his room slowly, not wanting to scare her off. "I couldn't stay away." "I'm not sorry about that. I am sorry for whatever has put that sad look in your eyes." Ingrid's cool fingers traced over his bruised neck, making him shiver slightly under her touch. "What does your little girlfriend think of this then?" "Erin? She's not my girlfriend, and she hasn't minded since before Halloween, I'd be surprised if she started now." Ingrid didn't look entirely convinced, but then she was kissing him and tugging his t-shirt off and Adam let the thoughts slip from his mind. He pushed her clothes away in turn, stroking over the pale skin revealed and pressing kisses wherever he could reach. Ingrid lay whimpering quietly into his neck as he stroked between her thighs, losing patience and straddling his hips when he wouldn't move faster.

"Why is this so hard to stop doing?" Ingrid whispered against his skin as he held her close after, tears following her words and matching his own. "I don't know. I don't know how to give you up, I'm not strong enough to." Ingrid cried softly against him for a while longer, pulling his body to blanket hers and raising her hips in an invitation Adam was powerless to resist. His heart took longer to stop hammering after this time, Ingrid panting harshly into his neck as they fought to regain control of their bodies. Wiping at the tear tracks on her cheeks, Adam pressed a gentle kiss to Ingrid's mouth. Her lips moved to brush over his bruised neck again before she moved away, mumbling "I need to leave" and dressing quickly. "Why? It's a little late to change your mind tonight." Ingrid glared at him, pulling her jacket back on and stepping back into her boots. "I shouldn't have come here in the first place." Adam shrugged his own clothes on, not wanting to be caught by his mother sneaking a girl out with his bitten, scratched and bruised body on display. "Fine, come on then." Adam unlocked his door, peering along the hallway and gesturing to Ingrid. She stepped around him, walking ahead and barely being careful enough not to make too much noise on the stairs.

Leaning in to kiss her goodbye, Adam felt the sting of rejection when Ingrid turned away. "Does Erin" Ingrid practically hissed the name "know she's sleeping with a boy who fucks his sister?" "What's your problem all of a sudden?" Ingrid pushed him against the wall, not unlike the first night they'd spent together. "You. I don't ever want to see you again." Trying not to choke loudly as Ingrid pressed harder on his throat, Adam scowled. "Then why do you turn up in my bed at night?" Ingrid's eyes flashed angrily then, almost... black in the low light. Fumbling to unlock the door when Ingrid released him, Adam pulled it open and Ingrid stalked past him, disappearing into the night quickly. Pushing the door closed behind her, Adam almost fainted in surprise at a voice behind him. "Adam, what are you doing?" Trying to think fast before tears spilled out of him, Adam locked the door. "I thought I heard voices outside but I couldn't see from my window. I was just checking my bike is still there, all good mum." His mum nodded, turning back up the stairs yawning and Adam followed, desperate to hide back in his room and cry.

He barely had the door locked behind him before the tears fell, muffling sobs in his pillow and crying harder when he realised his bed smelled like Ingrid all over again. Emotional and physical exhaustion were slow to take him, the nightmares a terrible hybrid of the two - Ingrid joining the vampires out to kill him and everyone turning against him for the monster he was. Nausea and heartbreak burned inside him as he lay in the dark, heart hammering in fear of his dreams, fear of himself. He dozed off into more nightmare-riddled sleep as the sun rose, waking to his door rattling and George shouting that he was going to miss dinner if he didn't get up soon. Checking his watch, Adam realised his mum was working this evening and George meant 'lunch'. Calling back "I'll be down once I've showered" in a sleep-rough voice, Adam hunted out clean clothes and stood under the hot spray of the shower for what felt like days. His cheeks were flushed from the heat as he dressed, fighting tears as he covered the mark Ingrid left on his neck.

The countdown to Ingrid's birthday ticked in his mind, even though she didn't turn up in his room again. Or at school for that matter. If Mrs Branagh hadn't mentioned that she and Mina Van Helsing had been to the castle to practice line dancing (he was still confused by that), and that Ingrid was apparently too sick to leave her room, Adam would have thought the Counts had left Stokely. He took George and Chloe to the museum for something to do other than stare sadly at his ceiling between school, his job and Erin. They went out to the bowling alley with the Branaghs for the twins birthday, and Adam was soundly thrashed by Robin, George and Chloe, watching Mr Branagh compete almost viciously against his twin sons in the next lane. Robin pulled him aside to wonder around the arcade inside the bowling alley when they were done, asking why Adam looked like he was dying. Given that was how he felt, Adam wasn't sure what to say. "You've lost weight, given up rugby, barely leave your house and even concealer and coffee can't hide how exhausted you are. What's going on?" Feeling his hands start shaking again, Adam shoved them in his pockets. There weren't words for what was in his mind, even Erin was struggling to get much out of him about his nightmares lately.

"Is that Erin with Jonno?" Adam looked where Robin was pointing, seeing Erin jump and hug Jonno as she scored a strike a few lanes down. He thought the sight should bother him, but he and Erin had never sworn exclusive and if Ingrid appeared in front of him, Adam doubted Erin would even cross his mind. "Yeah, what of it?" Robin looked at him strangely for a moment. "I thought you and Erin were..." "We are, but it's not exclusive or anything. She can do what she likes." Shrugging, Adam turned and headed back to the families before Robin could ask anything else. George jumping and cheering at the other lanes made Adam's stomach twist unpleasantly, a heady reminder of how the girl he was basically pining for was his blood. It was beginning to darken outside before the Branagh males were done fighting over bowling balls, and Adam thought the universe was playing a cruel trick on him when he thought he could smell Ingrid's perfume nearby. Scanning the arcade anyway, Adam felt like his heart stopped. Not only was Ingrid here, so was her father. "What is it Adam? You look like you've seen a ghost." "And not your reflection!" His mum and George found him staring blankly over at the Van Helsings, the woodwork teacher glaring as his wife greeted Mr Count brightly.

"Oh." George looked confused now, their mother staring just as lost as Adam was at the group. "It can't be." "Can't be what? What's going on?" Adam barely registered anything happening, his heart stuttering as he looked at Ingrid, though she didn't even glance in his direction. Before he knew it, there were goodbyes being exchanged and he was being pushed into the car. "Adam, have you met that man before?" Feeling fear, nausea and anxiety claw through him, Adam nodded. "He's Ingrid's father, a girl in my class. I bumped into him at the Valentines disco." They were driving home now, the above usual speed the only indicator his mother was anything other than calm. "Wait, where's George?" "I asked Elizabeth to take her for the night, not a tough sell given how much time she spends there anyway." They stumbled into the house, Adam following blindly. "Did you recognise him?" Another nod. "I wasn't sure until I came back and checked the drawing." "That's why you were in such a state that night?" Adam nodded again, mechanically making coffees and placing one next to his trembling mother.

"And you didn't think to mention this to anyone?" "I wasn't ready to deal with it, I mean, what are the chances we move to the same backwater town within months of each other?" "Does he know?" Adam shook his head then. "I haven't set foot in the castle since Valentines day. What am I supposed to say? Oh hi, I think I'm your son from a drunk weekend at Whitby Goth Festival? He'd think I was crazy and call the police!" Adam could feel his voice rising, knowing what he was saying was a lie. He didn't want to truly face up to what had happened with Ingrid. "It's only pure chance you haven't met him yet, Mrs Branagh and Mrs Van Helsing have been to the castle plenty of times." "Yes, well. Me and Mina don't really get along, I may have almost smacked her." Raising an eyebrow, Adam hadn't heard this story. "She told me you were strange and that I should be getting you to see her, or a therapist. I told her you were allowed to be as unique as you liked, and she dared tell me you must have turned out worse because you didn't know your father. Given that she left her son alone with her husband, I threatened to hit her with a sculpture if she dared tell me how to be a mother again." Adam couldn't help it, he laughed. "Go mum!"

"Yes, well. It's not proper behaviour but we politely avoid each other now." Sipping at his coffee, Adam waited for his mum to realise he'd diverted her attention. "Anyway, that's not why we're here. How could you not tell me son?" "Does it matter? You know he's here, go up to the castle and meet him properly or something. He's not really my father anyway, Michael was. DNA doesn't matter remember?" His mums face fell then, and Adam felt a fresh wave of guilt. "Of course, it's barely been a year since he died. That must have been a horrible shock for you." "Yeah, like I said, I wasn't ready to deal with it yet. I am sorry I didn't tell you though, I just didn't want to worry you or add to everything. You and George have really blossomed here, I didn't want to be the one to burden you." His mum started crying then, hugging him tightly. "You are my son, and I love you. You will never be a burden, do you hear me?" "I hear you. I love you too mum." She chuckled tearfully for a moment, turning to her now-cold coffee. "Well, I guess there's no question of whether or not you got the pale from him. He might actually be paler than you. The girl with him, that's Ingrid?"

Feeling the nausea return, Adam nodded. "Yeah. I'm a big brother and a little brother it seems." "How old is she?" "I think her 16th is this weekend. She got put in our year to catch up as English wasn't her first language and never pushed to be moved up. Her English is pretty flawless when she's telling the teachers to go away though." His mum sat calculating in her head then, working out how old Ingrid was when he was made. "She wasn't even six months old!" "Ingrid's parents aren't together anyway, it's just her and her father from what I've gathered. I imagine Mrs Branagh would know better. Oh hell, please don't tell her. She'll be up the castle five minutes later with a tray of tea and us dragged along behind her to 'sort it all out'." That earned him another watery chuckle from his mum. "Yes, she is quite a force to be reckoned with." Adam sighed, refilling their coffee before he spoke again. "Are we telling George?" "Not yet. Not until you're ready. If we tell her, it'll get to Chloe. And then Elizabeth will know regardless."

Knowing it was coming and preparing to lie through his teeth again, Adam waited. "Does Ingrid know you're her brother?" "No. We haven't even really spoken much, it's hard to get near her. Pretty much every boy at school is mad for her, and the Branagh twins are like personal security for her." His coffee was still too hot, but Adam drank it anyway to stop him blurting more out. "So you discovered... him in February, and you've just been carrying it alone all this time?" Adam shrugged. "It's fine, I'm alright. It was a shock, but I've had longer to get over it than you." "Yes, it was a shock. Are you sure it's him?" Adam nodded. "He found me lost in a corridor when I was looking for the bathroom, so I saw him pretty close. If it's not him, it's his identical twin brother. Your drawing was fantastic though, I have to say." "You expected less from me?" Smiling through his whirling emotions, Adam shook his head. "Of course not, you are a wonderful artist. That's why all those people keep turning up and paying for you to teach them to make vases shaped like trees." His mum threw a towel at his face for that, but Adam supposed he deserved it.

"So, are you planning to deal with this any time soon? I'm not pushing you, I just want to be prepared." Thinking of the strange countdown in his head, Adam nodded. "After Ingrid's birthday, I don't want to ruin their family time. I think I've been trying to pretend it wasn't happening, but it is and I need to man up and face it." "Whenever you're ready son, it is completely your decision." She squeezed his hand then, his pale skin even more stark against her natural tan. "So you've got my nose, my 'funny' earlobes and those two little moles just like George. Anything in common with them, other than a complete lack of tolerance for the sun?" Having catalogued Ingrid's face a thousand times now, Adam nodded. "Blue eyes, though Ingrid's are a different shade. And there's something in the curve of her cheeks and jaw that's like mine. Same with Mr Count." They talked briefly until the coffees were drained, then Adam begged to be released to go to bed. "It's been a long night already hasn't it? Go on then son. I love you." "Love you too mum. Night." He got a hug as he passed, clambering into bed and shaking.

George begged to know what she'd missed, but true to her word their mum said Adam was having problems with something and she'd know when Adam was ready. George wasn't happy, but Adam's exhausted face and tense shoulders must have convinced her the next day. He got a hug from her too, and a solemn promise she'd always love her ghostly pale big brother. Tracing the moles on his wrist, Adam looked out of the window. With the heavy countdown thundering in his mind, Ingrid's birthday had somehow crept up on him. He spent the entire day fighting the urge to go up to the castle, finally snapping and heading out for a run, though in the opposite direction to burn off some anxious energy. Running until his chest felt raw and his legs felt like lead, Adam stumbled home as the sky grew dark. His mum and George weren't home, but then that wasn't unusual for a Saturday. Letting the hot shower run over his tired muscles, Adam stumbled into clean shorts and t-shirt - it was too warm lately for his long pyjama bottoms and he often slept in t-shirts that didn't fit him well now.

It was midnight before he started to worry, pulling on his shoes and heading to knock on the Branaghs door quietly. There was no answer, and when Adam tried the door (he'd been told multiple times he was 'always welcome') it was locked. Looking around in confusion, Adam tried calling Robin, then George and his mum. None of them answered, and Adam felt panic start to set in. It was doubled when a hand pinned him to the wall, turning him round roughly to find... Jonno Van Helsing? And his father. "What is this?" "Shut up Giles! You're coming with us. Now!" "And if I don't?" Jonno's face was twisted with anger Adam could barely recognise. "Or everyone you care about will die." "George? Mum? You have them?" "Yes, and if you don't come with us quietly right now, you'll never see them or your neighbours alive again." Shaking harder in white hot panic now, Adam nodded. "I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt them. Please!" Adam felt his arms pulled behind him, metal cuffs clicking around his wrists before he was dragged along roughly. "Where are mum and George? Tell me!" The Van Helsings kept pulling him along, whispering in hushed tones to each other. "Tell me!" "They are where you're going, now shut up and walk!" Stumbling a little, Adam recognised the route to Stokely Castle. Whatever was happening here was apparently more than just Ingrid's birthday.

-ASYD-

 **I don't know when I'll next be able to actually update, but I'll finish the chapter while I lack computer access and it'll just need quickly typing and uploading. Enjoy!**


	24. Chosen One

**Don't own the characters!**

 **To the new followers/favouriters, thank you! To everyone sticking with this story in spite of my horrendous and unpredictable update schedule, thank you!**

 **This is the final chapter of this story, but there will be a sequel I hope to start in a day or so after my other work is updated.**

-ASYD-

Adam found himself dragged roughly along, all but thrown through the doors of Stokely Castle and tossed into the main room. The room had been empty save for he and Ingrid the last time, dimly lit with a few candles. Now there was plenty of candles lit, and the room was full of people. His eyes found his mum, George and the Branaghs stood looking confused and terrified. "Adam!" "Mum! George! Are you ok?" "Yes, we're fine, but what on earth is going on?" Adam shrugged as best he could, his arms still locked behind his back. Looking further around the room, he found Erin and Ryan stood holding... stakes? on Ingrid and her... their father. In the corner were a group of very strangely dressed, hissing, fanged people. There were a group of vampires. Vampires that didn't just exist in Robin's mind, or Adam's nightmares. The vampires were surrounded by more people holding stakes, so Adam supposed he had to accept they were vampire slayers.

On the main table, rested upon an ornate cushion was something Adam supposed he would call a crown. If crowns were made of bones. A swift kick to the back of his legs knocked Adam into a kneeling position, and Jonno Van Helsing came around to the front of Adam and kicked him solidly in the stomach, winding him as he fell backwards. The cuffs around his wrists felt looser, but Adam wasn't about to risk showing that and forced himself to stay still as he struggled to breathe through the pain. "What are you doing to my son? Why is he tied up? What is all this?" Van Helsing, the father, laughed coldly as he turned to smile broadly at Sally. "He's a monster. You're here as leverage, to make sure he does as he's told."

"I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt my family! Or my friends!" Jonno aimed another kick at Adam's side, growling at him to be quiet. "Don't hurt your family? You've got some nerve!" A woman Adam thought beared a passing resemblance to Erin stepped forward then, voice icy as Adam felt cold realisation shoot down his spine. "You've been having sex with your sister, you sick freak!" "WHAT?!" A group shout echoed from the group of humans, the ones currently being kept for Adam's compliance. "You... George?" "NO!" Adam and George shouted in sync. "Mum, how could you think that? Adam would die before he hurt me!" There was a faint flicker of deep love for his little sister amongst all the abject fear, Adam slightly lifted by George's vehement defense of him. It soon faded as he realised everyone was about to find out what he'd done to Ingrid. "Then who... Oh." Realisation dawned across his mothers face as she looked over at Ingrid.

Swallowing thickly around the fear rising in his throat. Adam tried to remember how to speak. "Wait a moment, how do you even know any of this?" His mother spoke before Adam could find words, looking over at what he was starting to accept was probably Erin's mother. The one Erin had said was dead. "DNA. He had unprotected sex with his sister, then that same day he had sex with Erin. Condoms, a wonderful thing when you need something to test. Even we were surprised by what we found." Nausea spiked then, Adam retching slightly at the implication of her words. "You kept them? You tested them? That's... I don't even have words for how disgusting that is." Adam managed to struggle back to upright, feeling the cuffs click loose and hoping his speech covered the sound of loosening metal.

"Says the boy who slept with his sister. We came here to follow the Draculas, once we discovered they were leaving Transylvania. Imagine our surprise when we found you were already here, we thought it would take years to find you. We had to send Erin in to be sure, to know it was you for certain. The... method of acquiring your DNA was unfortunate, but my daughter did what she had to." Even the group of vampires groaned in disgust with the humans in the room then, sickened by what they were hearing. Looking at Erin, who was steadfastly ignoring his eyes and looking at Ingrid, Adam felt sick. "Aside from how utterly creeptastic that is, why did you want my DNA?" Jonno and his father were stood in front of Adam now, glaring down at him and Adam forced himself to keep his arms behind him as though they were locked.

"We had to be sure it was you." "I get that, that explains the first time. Not the next hundred or so." Adam spat the words out, well aware he was disgracing himself in front of his mother, his sister, his friends but he needed to keep the attention on him, learn things so his family had a better chance of getting out alive. He wasn't sure he could hope for the same himself. "To keep you compliant, to learn more about you. Didn't you wonder at how frequently Erin was left alone when you were sneaking around?" Betrayal settled heavily in his stomach, Erin still not looking at him. "Yes, I did. But Erin never pushed me to talk, I was returning the courtesy."

"Well isn't that touching? It didn't stop you using her though did it? If I didn't have orders to wait, I'd have killed you for touching her again and again long ago." Ryan was hissing the words at Adam, fiery anger in his eyes and Adam had no disbelief in Ryan's words as his youthful face hardened. "Aside from that, why did you do any of this? What is so special about me it needed my DNA repeatedly? Why did you even keep... testing them? Surely the first one was enough. What's so damn special about me you had to kidnap my family, my neighbours and drag me up here in the dead of night?" Given how Adam wasn't sure he'd be leaving alive, he decided information about why was the best he was going to get.

"You're dimidius. Half vampire, half human. An abomination. We spotted you the day we started school, not cold enough to be dead but not warm like a human. We couldn't be sure you weren't just some genetic abnormality, so Erin had to go in." Ryan was still pouring anger into his words, gesturing wildly with his stake pointed at Ingrid... and his father. "This is your father. Count Dracula. Vampire." "No way!" "Robin, not the time." Amidst everything, Adam still barely contained the impulse to roll his eyes at his friend. "I'm sorry. Vampire!?" His mother was now looking at... Count Dracula in utter confusion. "Yes yes, it's all true. Apologies for the surprise, and for not telling you when we ah met. But then I wasn't expecting you to be... expecting because of me." Adam's recently-discovered father finally spoke, trying to back away from the stake Ryan had on him.

"Hold on. You knew! Both of you! You knew why I had those awful dreams every night and you never told me!" Ingrid's face was still impassive, but Adam could read the emotions in her eyes better than anyone and there was sadness and apology there. Still feeling the cold betrayal, Adam turned away from her. "Yes, like we said, we had to be sure. It's regrettable my daughter had to lower herself, to go to such lengths but you began to confide in her so quickly it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up! Now we are certain, and everything has fallen into place, we can put you down like the monster you are. The Chosen One will never gain his power!" Having heard the title in his dreams, Adam could feel pieces falling together in his mind. The 'Count' was looking up in surprise, eyes flicking between Adam and the crown on his table.

"What's fallen into place? What is all this? Why did you wait almost the entire school year?" The 'slayers' gestured to the trapped vampires, then at the crown. "We finally got rid of the Grand High Vampire, the bloodlines had begun to drop and it meant the Chosen One was coming. Having access to information these dead creatures could never dream of, we knew the dimidius child would have to be coming of age soon and we found you, and we knew the Chosen One would be part human." Pushing for more information now Erin's mother seemed chatty, Adam asked more. "But what is the Chosen One? Why do I have to die?" His knees were aching from the hard floor, his arms shaking from the way he was holding them as though he were still trapped, but Adam needed to learn, to know before he moved and risked everyones life.

"A vampire with exceptional powers who will lead his race to glory. We cannot allow that to happen." Looking down at his thin body that he put through so much, Adam was confused. "I don't think I'm your man then. I'm scared to sleep, how exactly would I lead an army of bloodthirsty creatures?" Erin finally looked towards him then, the stake she had pointed at Ingrid lowering and she stepped a little closer to Adam. There was a spark of something he couldn't read in Erin's usually expressive eyes. "The dreams were your two sides at war. Vampire bloodlust against human emotion." Anger was hot in his chest as Adam answered. "You dare talk of emotion? You lied to me, slept with me and betrayed me over and over, let them take my family and for what?" Erin opened her mouth to answer, but Ryan shouted first. "My sister did what she had to, we had to find the chosen one." "So what, you pimped out your sister? Your daughter? And I'm the freak?"

"You are no one to talk, fucking your sister. And anyway, from what I hear, you wouldn't have even got this far without offing yourself if Erin wasn't propping you up. We know all about the dark secrets under your t-shirt." Dread settled over Adam at Ryan's words, the constant reminder of being related to Ingrid and the idea he was about to be... revealed after months of working to hide what he did from the people he cared about. Looking up at Erin again, Adam thought he caught a shadow of a nod and figured it was as much as he could wait for, the Van Helsings hauling him to his feet by his shirt and he felt the fabric begin to tear. Hoping he didn't mis-time it and get someone killed, Adam waited until they'd pulled his shirt most of the way apart, both smiling darkly as his bruised, scarred skin was revealed.

As he felt the fabric finally rip the whole way, Adam pulled his wrists apart and shoved Jonno back and upwards, hearing his head smack into his fathers with a solid thump and they both fell to the floor. The 'slayers were about to retaliate, but Erin was diving sideways and tossing Adam the strange boney crown. Having had this moment replayed in his dreams dozens of times, Adam didn't feel worried as he raised the crown and placed it over his head, the fit perfect. It felt like a missing part of him had finally been fixed, a glow of pure energy flowing through him. The slayers moved, but in the confusion the vampires had managed to gain advantage and were now surrounding them. "Stop!" The word fell from him easily, and every slayer and vampire other than Erin and Ingrid stopped dead.

The humans present were staring, but Adam didn't know where to go from here. Turning to Ingrid and Erin, who were stood protectively in front of his family and friends, Adam looked at them. "Why weren't you... affected?" Ingrid scowled over at Erin for a moment, confusing Adam. "You can't hypnotise someone you're in love with." Oh. Adam wasn't expecting that, given how he was still full of anger and betrayal at Erin. Looking back over, he could see Ryan was mere seconds from being dead if the hypnotism wore off, the Count's pale hand wrapped around his throat. Stepping forward, he carefully removed a dazed looking Ryan from the clutches. Leading him over to Erin, he looked at her pleadingly. "Don't let him hurt Ingrid?" Erin nodded, holding Ryan's wrist tightly.

Having seen how this all played out in his dreams, Adam turned back to the group of dazed vampires and slayers. "You will leave here, and remember nothing of tonight, or of the Chosen One. Now go!" The group left, walking through the door and then a dozen bats flapped past the window. Sagging slightly with relief, Adam pulled off the crown and tossed it onto the table before falling onto a chair heavily. "What now?" Erin dashed over to him, completely missing Ryan coming out of his daze as she threw herself at him. "I'm so sorry. Before all this started, I didn't know you. I didn't know I'd fall for you. That's why I was the one guarding Ingrid, the others would have staked her on the spot as only you and your father were needed." Still feeling betrayed but knowing Erin had put her life on the line for him and Ingrid, Adam nodded stiffly and didn't instantly reject her hug. "I'm still not sure I can forgive you, but thank you."

The lifting daze had also left the Count, who suddenly dashed over to Ryan and was biting him in under a second. "Ryan!" "Stop!" Adam threw his hand up as a gesture and was surprised by the ball of flame that sparked and flew from his palm. It flashed between the Count and Ryan, who dropped to the floor. "Ryan!" Erin ran over to her brother, torn between scowling at the Count and tending to her brother. "Oh relax, he'll be fine. Just undead!" Ingrid was clearly fighting some kind of ironic amusement as a slayer was slowly turning into a vampire before their very eyes. The humans were looking at Adam strangely, and he realised in all the chaos he'd completely lost his torn shirt. "Adam, what the hell happened to you?" Dropping his head in shame, Adam didn't know how to answer. "That was me. Well, me and Ingrid."

Adam wasn't sure bringing Ingrid and his... relationship was the best idea, as his mum and George looked between them. "Did you know? That she was your sister?" "No, I swear!" That wasn't strictly true, but Adam sincerely hoped nobody who knew would say otherwise. "When we found out, we stopped" Ingrid supplemented, and Erin looked between them but then went back to seeing if Ryan was coming round. While he hadn't explicitly told Erin, she was probably smart enough to work out what had happened at Valentines, when he was essentially broken as he clung to her body the next night, and then he'd admitted they'd had sex since then. Ingrid joined him at the table then, her eyes sad and confused but her face its usual marble perfection. "So... vampires?" Robin clearly couldn't resist asking that now.

"Apparently so. What is even going to happen to me now?" Adam turned to the Count, his father. "We'll talk of that later, we need to discuss what to do about them." He gestured to Adam's family and friends. "If we allow them to remember, us and they will all be in terrible danger." "What do I do?" Adam felt a fresh wave of fear spike through him then. "You can't do anything, he can't mindwipe people he cares about dad. You know that. Plus he's not even sixteen, he doesn't know how to use his powers." The Count's face twitched repeatedly, flickers of various emotions crossing his pale face. "Right. So one of us will have to do it." "Whoa whoa, mindwipe?" "They only have to forget tonight, do you want your mother remembering seeing all this?" Said humans were exceptionally quiet, and Adam was feeling everything start to pile up on him as Ingrid spoke.

"Right. I may need a t-shirt." "You know where my room is, go pick something out." Nodding, Adam ran past his human family to the lowering staircase, finding the t-shirt Ingrid had taken months ago on her bed. Pulling it on, Adam shivered slightly as Ingrid's scent surrounded him again. As he went to return, Ingrid was waiting in the hallway for him. They clutched each other tightly for a moment, and Adam could feel the tears start to spill. "I'm sorry about before, but I knew my transformation was coming up and if I didn't try to break it off, I wouldn't have been strong enough to stop coming back." Adam nodded, pulling his face back to move to kissing Ingrid regardless of knowing how bad an idea it was. She responded instantly, her tears damp on his cheeks as they mingled with his. "I love you." Ingrid nodded, swiping at her face and he copied her, waiting for her to speak. "That wasn't why I came out here. You need to know, when you're sixteen you're going to transform into a vampire whether you like it or not."

"What does that even mean?" "You can't go in the sun, eat garlic or touch pointy wood. You'll have to merge with your reflection, accept your vampire self and you'll gain powers. Apparently very powerful ones Chosen One. I was going to come and tell you about that when I thought I could be near you without falling into bed again. But this can wait, right now we need to deal with your family." Squaring his shoulders, Adam brushed a kiss over Ingrid's cheek before nodding. They held hands until they got to the corner where they'd return to being visible, and it physically hurt to let her go but Adam forced a small smile over his face. They were all still alive, Erin and Ryan gone from the floor and George and their mum smiled when they saw him.

"Adam son, where did you get off to?" "Just the bathroom mum, how is the meet and greet with my father?" "He's wonderful, I told you so Sally!" The humans were all chatting, at ease as though there weren't almost multiple murders and fears tonight. "Right, I expect you'll want to be off then, it's gone midnight. Do feel free to visit any time. I wonder, would it be too much of an imposition to allow your... our son to stay? I would like the time to get to know him and I believe it's not a... school day tomorrow?" His father was smooth, effortlessly charismatic and his mum nodded. "Of course, I understand completely. Just send him home at a respectable hour, can't have him missing sleep before school Monday." The humans all left, smiling happily and Adam collapsed back into a seat as soon as it was clear.

"So, where do we go from here then?"

-ASYD-

 **So, Adam's Story is finished! Thank you to everyone who has read/followed/favourited/reviewed/messaged me about it! There will be a sequel, which at the moment I intend to call Vl-Adam-ir but that may change, it should be up either tomorrow or the day after, I have four other things to update before I work on that but I'm hoping to make good progress.**

 **Again, thank you!**

 **-Harker**


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